


Deceit

by IdiocyxAngst



Category: the GazettE (Band)
Genre: Concubine!Aoi, Concubine!Uruha, Emperor!Kai, Loosely historic setting, M/M, Plot, Sex, Threesome - M/M/M, m/m - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-22
Updated: 2020-03-29
Packaged: 2021-02-27 06:20:48
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 22
Words: 124,579
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22362493
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IdiocyxAngst/pseuds/IdiocyxAngst
Summary: Two boys witness an unfortunate event that changes their lives forever. Forced to live in hiding for the sake of survival, they find their place in the world in the arms of an emperor.
Relationships: Aoi/Kai (the GazettE), Aoi/Uruha (the GazettE), Aoiha, Kai/Uruha (the GazettE), Kaiha - Relationship, Kaoi, Kaoiha - Relationship, UruAoi - Relationship
Comments: 54
Kudos: 73





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This behemoth of a story has taken up my life for the past year. And now that it is finally completed, I’m excited to share it with you all. Yes, I said complete. It’s all written and ready to post. But I kinda like the suspense of it, so I’ll post it every other day. Maybe even daily if you are good. <3

Their high pitched laughter rang through the woods as Aoi chased Uruha through the sun-dappled forest. 

“Don’t think you can get away that easily!” Aoi exclaimed as he gained speed, catching up to Uruha and tackling him, sending them both rolling merrily down the gently sloped forest floor. They both reached the bottom breathless, the smocks they were wearing decidedly dirtier than they were when the two entered the forest. Their guardian would definitely scold them later. 

Uruha sat up, grinning, and looking towards Aoi, who was now sitting on his bottom with one leg splayed out in front of him and the other pulled close. His chubby fingers pressing down on his knee near skin scraped by a root he had tumbled over on his way down the hill. Uruha crawled over to inspect the damage, noting Aoi’s soft eyes filling with tears and trying to prevent the wailing he knew would inevitably follow when he saw that Aoi’s knee was bleeding lightly.

His attention was nearly immediately diverted, however, when he heard gruff male voices talking from the other side of the bushes behind which the two were currently sitting and he peeked through the topmost leaves curiously. 

“...and we will kill your only living heir, too. You can count on it.”

The boy was looking into a clearing that was filled with men, most bedecked in armor and weapons. One unarmed man was on his knees in the center, his hands tied with rough rope. He was gagged and bleeding, his long hair in disarray but his eyes steely and set on another man standing in front of him. The clearing was very quiet for so many men and, as Uruha watched, one of the men in the circle pulled out a sharp katana that gleamed in what little sunlight made it through the forest canopy. This felt wrong, and what that man said...

Uruha heard Aoi begin to sniffle and quickly dropped back from his position, pressing his palm to the other boy’s mouth to silence him. Aoi glared defiantly at Uruha and pulled his head back, about to protest, when he saw Uruha’s widened eyes and a small finger pressed to puckered lips. He kneeled up curiously, forgetting about the scrape on his knee when he saw the warning in Uruha’s eyes. The two of them now peered through the bushes to the scene beyond them.

It hadn’t changed much from when Uruha was last looking. The only difference was the man with the katana was now standing directly behind the bound man, the shiny edge of his blade resting lightly on the top of his shoulder. In an instant all that changed as the blade pulled back and swiped forward viciously, severing the man’s head in one clean stroke.

The gagged man’s head rolled forward after a protracted moment, hitting the ground with a dull thud, the rest of his body slumping forward as if in slow motion before the boys’ stunned eyes. The man who was standing in front of the now lifeless body was grinning as the other man wiped his blade on the corpse’s clothing before sheathing it.

Uruha turned to look at Aoi just as he let out the barest beginning of a whimper. The low voices on the other side of the wall of bushes were immediately silenced and quick footsteps approached the two hidden boys. Acting quickly, the older boy grabbed Aoi by the wrist, dragging him up and running as fast as he could back up the hill they had tumbled down so carelessly mere moments ago. 

They heard the footsteps tailing them, and the angry shouts for them to stop, but they both kept running, ducking into places they couldn’t be followed and squeezing through gaps much too small for the lumbering giants following them to fit through. Uruha led the way, taking the most direct route through the undergrowth to get back to their village and the safety of home. It took them a surprisingly short time to lose their pursuers as they ran all the way back home, each clutching the other’s hand like a lifeline. 

When they arrived at their small hut, covered in dirt and sweating like crazy, they didn’t say anything about what they had seen to their guardian, Tanaka san, who scolded them as he would any other time for dirtying their clothes and creating more work. The two boys spent the rest of their day in a suspicious cloud of silence that had the man who cared for them wondering if something was wrong. When he sent the two off to bed they went without complaint but lay awake, each lost in thought about the day’s events.

“Uru...” Aoi finally broke the silence. “Are we in trouble?”

Uruha considered for a moment before shaking his head. “I don’t think so. But we shouldn’t tell anyone what we saw, or we might be.” Uruha watched as Aoi nodded in agreement, brows still drawn together and a worried frown on his face. The older boy scooched closer to the younger, patting his hair. “We’ll be ok. Just go to sleep.” Aoi nodded, snuggling closer to his friend for comfort.

The next day the two attended school as usual, but when lunch came and the two sat outside the classroom window to eat their meager rations they heard someone ask their teacher if they had any students matching the boys’ description. Constantly being in trouble with their elders had its benefits. They knew the tone of voice an adult used when they were seriously in trouble. They quickly packed up their lunch and slipped away from the building, into the streets.

The main drag was busy, as always, but this time it was not only the normal pedestrians milling about, but what appeared to be soldiers of some kind. They were knocking violently on doors and shoving sheafs of paper in resident’s faces. Curiosity killed the cat but Aoi and Uruha couldn’t help wondering what was on the paper. It didn’t take them long to find out, though, as the same sheet was pasted on the sides of buildings and the community board. 

It was a drawing of the man whose head had fallen off ever so slowly yesterday in front of the two boys’ eyes. He looked quite different in the picture, much less scruffy and far more benign, but it was unmistakably the same man. The children slipped warily through the bodies bustling about on the street until they reached their home, ducking quickly through the door.

“And just what do you think you’re doing here at this hour?” Tanaka san’s chest was swelling and his eyes were bulging with anger as he towered over them.

Thinking quickly, Uruha put his hands up defensively. “We aren’t skipping!”

The man waited impatiently for an explanation, staring down at them with folded arms.

“There are scary people looking for us!” Aoi piped up, getting right to the point. “And we saw the poster of the man who died yesterday hanging in town!”

Uruha elbowed Aoi in the ribs. “You weren’t supposed to say anything!”

The old man’s face had gone unnaturally white as he stared at the two. He knelt down quickly, grabbing an arm on each of them gently, so they focused on him. 

“What do you mean ‘the man who died?’” His eyes flicked between the two, finally settling on Uruha when Aoi looked guiltily away. “You must tell me everything.”

Uruha gnawed on his lip for a moment before opening up, sharing his recollection of their encounter in a quiet voice.

The man’s eyes widened in fear as the details came to light. When Uruha finished telling him everything, up to the moment when they had come home he stood and began pacing quickly around the hovel. He finally seemed to come to a conclusion and knelt down again, hands going back to each of their shoulders. 

“Boys, th—” 

He was cut off mid-sentence as a heavy knock sounded at the door.

“Hide and don’t come out until I say,” he commanded in a low voice. 

The boys did as they were told, quickly making themselves as scarce as possible in the adjoining room.

They heard Tanaka san open the door and addressing the people outside. It didn’t take long before they heard the door close again and their guardian told them to come out.

“You must quickly pack your things. We are taking a trip.”

They had gathered what little they had in minutes and were out the door and into the afternoon sunlight quickly. It took them about two hours of steady walking and the boys were beginning to wonder where they were going. Tanaka san didn’t say much, just turning to make sure they were keeping pace every once in a while.

Their eyes widened as they came around a bend in the road only to catch sight of the most magnificent building they had ever beheld. They followed Tanaka san in awestruck silence for a time before they took a branching route into a wooded area that hardly had any traces of a path. 

They walked over craggy ground and lifted tree roots for a bit longer, the man panting as he grabbed trees to keep his balance and the children hopping gleefully over the ground in a near race. The path abruptly opened to reveal that they were now directly beside the ornate building from earlier. There was a building slightly off to one side and Tanaka san knocked on the door to it in a rhythmic pattern.

After a short wait, another man came out, looking curiously to see who it was. His expression cleared when he spotted the boys’ guardian. 

“Well, what a surprise this is!” He looked around at all of them and introduced himself to the two children kindly before turning to address Tanaka san. “How have you been, lately, Tanaka?”

“Been alright, Sato. Look, I’m sorry to bother you but can you watch these little monsters for a while?” Aoi and Uruha gave wide, toothy grins to the man they didn't know at that. “I’m going away for a bit and just need a place for them. You can put them to work. They’ve got a nose for trouble but they follow direction alright. If it’s not too much trouble, would you mind?”

Sato san looked surprised but not particularly bothered by the idea. “Sure, I’ll take them. You guys ready to work?” He addressed the children who nodded reluctantly while glancing between the two adults. 

Tanaka san bowed low, thanking the man properly before turning to the boys and kneeling. 

“You be good, you hear? Do everything he says and don’t cause any trouble.”

They both nodded solemnly and he pulled them into a crushing hug. “Never tell anyone else what you saw, understand? No matter what.” He leaned back and the boys nodded again. 

Tanaka san stood up, bowing once more to the other man as he turned and walked away briskly. The two boys following the other man into the vast kitchen, both watching the retreating back of their guardian until the door closed and blocked their view.

The next morning the news came that Tanaka san had passed away. They didn’t ask how and didn’t make a fuss until that evening when they both cried in a combination of fear and sadness. They had never been more alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love the idea of these two as little tiny bumpkins. Super cute!! Don’t worry, they won’t be kids for long


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I couldn’t wait to post. Maybe I’m more excited than everyone to share. Lol! But I can’t help myself.

The next days were much the same as the previous ones. Aoi and Uruha waited on tenterhooks for the man they were supposed to be temporarily staying with to tell them to leave, but he never did. Not even when Aoi dropped a stack of plates on the floor because he’d slipped on the watery mess he’d made trying to clean them. Not even when the man told them he was sick of them and grumbled loudly about being saddled with a new burden. Not even when Uruha chased Aoi around the kitchen and the rest of the staff took such issue with them being underfoot that they brought it up with their new caretaker. They were soundly scolded and told not to make trouble, a rule that would later come with extra chores and less freedom if not adhered to, but they were never told to leave. 

It wasn’t more than a fortnight before the rumors of a man looking for two boys made its way to the kitchen staff. 

“Did you hear?” A woman wiped her hands on her apron and spoke to Sato san, the man caring for the boys, as they worked together at a counter right behind them. Aoi was standing on a stepstool and up to his elbows in suds as Uruha waited with a towel to dry.

“Hear what?” The man ran a knife roughly along a bone in the carcass he was butchering.

The woman wiped her hands again on her apron and glanced the boys’ way, lowering her voice. “There’s a new man in the castle who claims he’s here as a bounty hunter. Says he’s looking for two boys.” She glanced nervously at the boys as Uruha carefully set a plate on the small stack of dry ones on the counter beside the sink. “You don’t think…” She trailed off, eyeing the boys with disdain.

The man halted his work, glancing curiously behind him before turning back to the woman with a reassuring smile.

“Couldn’t be,” he said, resuming his work. “I told you already, didn’t I? Those kids didn’t show up out of nowhere. They were foisted off on us by the laundry staff. They said they were too small to handle the work.” He shrugged. “Besides, those two aren’t even boys.”

The woman barked a startled laugh. “They’re not?” 

The man shrugged again. “Nah, I think the laundry people just made them wear those clothes because they were ratty and bound for the trash otherwise. Been talking to the wife about repurposing our daughter’s old clothes for them. She’s too grown to fit in them now anyway.”

“Oh, what a nice idea,” the woman twittered, holding her hands still clutching the apron close to her chest. “I’m sure they’ll love it!”

When Aoi and Uruha woke the next morning it was to a loud knock on the door of the cupboard the two had been sleeping on some weathered blankets within every night. Uruha sat up blearily as a large figure came in, hunching down to get his head and shoulders under the short door frame. Aoi sat up and blinked as the man straightened up. 

It was their new caretaker, Sato san, and he hadn’t come empty-handed. He had a pile of clothes that he’d placed on the floor. He pulled two items out of the pile, one with each hand, and presented them to the boys.

“Your new clothes!” 

He seemed pretty self satisfied and Uruha couldn’t understand why. In each of the man’s roughened hands was held a dress. They were nothing particularly special or frilly, but they were definitely dresses.

Aoi and Uruha stood up and walked over, each looking warily at the dresses and then up at the man holding them.

“We aren’t girls…” Uruha commented, confused.

The man’s face softened. “I know,” he said gently, pressing a dress into Uruha’s small hands, “but I have a hunch that the man who came here yesterday searching for two boys was looking for you guys.”

Uruha’s spine stiffened and he bit his lip. 

“How did you kn-” Aoi cut himself off as Uruha elbowed him in the ribs.

The man smiled down at them gently and pressed the dress still in one hand closer to Aoi, who had yet to take it. “I don’t need to know. Take this, it will help you stay disguised.”

Aoi slapped the fabric of the dress, an angry frown on his face. “I’m not wearing this! I’m a man! I’m not gay!” He turned to Uruha for support only to find the other boy halfway into the dress, looking at him blankly. Aoi gave him a look that clearly said he’d experienced the ultimate betrayal. “What are you doing?!”

Uruha looked away and pulled his arm into a sleeve. “I don’t want to die,” he deadpanned.

Aoi gaped like a fish at Uruha for a moment before looking back at the dress, disgust etched into his face. After a moment of internal debate, he reached out and yanked the dress from the man’s hand, stomping to a corner of the room to go put it on. 

After the two had finished dressing, with much more fuss than was necessary on Aoi’s part, they stood for inspection.

The man looked at them and brought a hand up as he observed them, deep in thought. 

“Something is missing.” 

Aoi and Uruha looked at each other, confused. Were they not already wearing dresses? Was that not enough?

“Ah! I know!” The man snapped his fingers, his face alight with triumph and amusement. “You girls need to wear your hair like girls,” he said brightly.

Aoi’s body hit the corner of the room as he shook his head. “You can’t make me!”

The man looked at Uruha, who looked back at him and shrugged, and the two began to approach Aoi all at once. His eyes widened in his cherubic face as they got closer, cutting off all exits. 

It didn’t take long before Aoi was tearing out of their grasp, his hair up in two neat buns on the top sides of his head, bangs in a neat line above his eyebrows. His expression was far from girly but he could certainly pass for one with ease, now. 

The younger boy was speechless with impotent fury as the man expertly tucked Uruha’s light hair into a low side bun. He looked every bit the mature young lady.

The man stood back and looked over them, then nodded, grinning cheerfully. “Right! I think that will do just fine.”

Aoi and Uruha shared a glance and followed the man back to another day of hard work.

As time went on the two grew used to their work and were moved out of the closet they had been living in, into servant’s quarters. They lived with many other people in one room, but they got a futon to share, which was more than they’d had when they were hiding in the cupboard, so they were grateful. 

Several days after they had first been forced into girls’ clothing, the two were called in the middle of the day with everyone else who worked in the kitchen. They were made to stand next to sato san in one of the larger halls. Some of the staff looked confused, others annoyed, and still others worried. 

The hissing of many whispers swept the ranks as the adults wondered what they had all been called for. 

“I heard the order came directly from the emperor’s advisors,” the woman to one side of Aoi spoke to Sato san over the tops of their heads. “Who knows what they want though?”

Sato san smiled kindly at the trepidatious boys. “I’m sure it’s nothing.” His tone was reassuring. Uruha and Aoi felt mildly comforted.

“Line up!” The command was barked from somewhere near the entrance of the room and everyone hastened to follow the order. The boys stuck close to Sato san, holding hands with each other so they didn’t get separated among the moving bodies. They let go of that connection as their Sato san arranged them so that each was on opposite sides of him in the line. 

Aoi bent forward, peering at Uruha across the front of Sato san’s legs, eyes worried. Uruha was doing the same on the other side, looking at Aoi. He straightened up as the line became fully formed, though, and Aoi lost eye contact. He tried to take Uruha’s cue and be brave, standing up straight as their attention was directed toward the end of the room again.

“No need to worry, folks, we are just checking if the people this man is looking for are among you. Stand straight, now, so he can see you clearly.”

The instructions were simple but Aoi’s eyes kept sliding to the side, trying to find Uruha. Two sets of footsteps walked slowly towards them. As they approached, Aoi was able to see who they were and his fear spiked as he glanced once again in Uruha’s direction. 

The men walking down the line were from the forest! Well, at least one of them was. It was the one who was standing in front of the man who’d died, the one who threatened to kill another! Aoi didn't recognize the other man but felt very sure that he and Uruha were the targets of this investigation. 

Aoi began to fidget until a gentle hand laid on his shoulder made him look up at their new Sato san. A minute shake of his head was all he got before the hand slipped off his shoulder once more. Aoi’s fear grew as the footsteps got closer, seeming to take an eternity to reach them. 

The men passed in front of Uruha but stopped short when they saw him. One of them did a double-take, glancing quickly in Uruha’s direction once more. After another protracted moment, the men moved on down the line. Aoi bit his lip to keep his relieved sigh inside. 

The inspection didn’t take another two minutes before they were all free to go. Their Sato san grabbed both the boys’ hands and steered them back to the kitchen. When they arrived Aoi quickly wrenched out of the man’s grip and ran to Uruha, hugging him tightly around the middle.

“That was so scary!”

Uruha pet his hair gently and pushed him away, being aware that the rest of the staff was slowly filtering into the room.

“Later, ok?”

Aoi reluctantly nodded and the boys returned to their duties.

That night they slept close together, each clutching each other unconsciously. 

Their days quickly became routine after that. They were given small tasks by the staff that they had to carry out and taught how to tend the herb garden right outside the kitchen. Their small hands were perfect for the work of weeding and planting and they stayed out of the rest of the staff’s way by being outside. 

Aoi chose to use this opportunity to secretly plant a few strawberries in an unused patch of dirt from seeds he’d been lucky enough to collect from his dinner the night before. He had eaten most of the strawberry and even though he didn't know the first thing about planting strawberries when he planted the remains his little patch grew. 

More often than not, the two would be caught outside playing games that were nonsensical to anyone else and running around for no particular reason. The rest of the staff let them be when they were out there, for the most part. They slept better at night, which was less annoying, and stayed out of the staff’s way when they had something important to do. 

They had to come up with another way to get the boys out of the kitchen during the winter months and so the staff began sending them out on small errands. Once the two proved they could manage these small tasks, such as delivering small foodstuffs to certain areas of the palace, they were entrusted with more important tasks, like delivering important messages between servants.

This meant that the two had plenty of time to learn all the nooks and crannies of their new home and encountered all sorts of people. Oftentimes they would run messages to the heads of particular aspects of castle life and they quickly learned the more important people took more time to be bothered with them. 

When they had first begun to deliver these messages they had quickly learned that it was unacceptable to be restless while waiting. Impatience was highly frowned upon and the two received a few more lessons about how to act in court in the form of many condescending sneers and words from the kitchen staff who had heard about their behavior. 

Luckily, the two were quick learners and didn’t continue to make these mistakes. As they became more learned in court behavior they became more relied upon to pass the more important messages, and oftentimes the messages weren’t even from the kitchen staff. 

The head of laundry was often found conversing with a woman who wore fancy clothing and always looked more beautiful than anyone else the two had seen around the palace. They soon found out that she was one of the concubine attendants, Ito san. The conversations between the two heads usually ran well over the amount of time either of the boys wanted to spend delivering a message. But, by the time they began to deliver these more important messages, they were older than when they first began and had already learned how to stand still and wait patiently. The woman would often send them on small side trips after they were done delivering the message they had originally come to deliver. 

She smiled at them with flashing eyes that seemed to somehow promise trouble and she soon became someone the two wished to deliver messages to because running her messages was always a break from the ordinary. It was their favorite thing when she would send them somewhere outside. After they finished the task they had been set, the boys were often able to squeeze in a few minutes of just being themselves without worrying about being seen or scolded. 

The two never forgot why they wore girl’s clothing, though it became easier to wear after they had so long to get used to it, but they felt safer outside. They were less cloistered and stifled by the environment inside. So, whenever they could, the two would use up their excess energy, often times getting into small scuffles or making up silly games to kill time and avoid returning to duty.

When the two passed into their early teens they experienced a shock at discovering Ito san in the kitchen after they had finished delivering one of her messages. She had never before come to the kitchen. The two had been fortunate enough to be able to go outside for the message and were a bit disheveled as a result, but happier than they had been in a while since the last time they had been outside had been many weeks prior.

Even buzzing with happiness and energy as they were, the two kept their heads down and went about their work properly, trying not to interrupt the two adults.

“There, you see that? They’re practically radiating energy and warmth. That’s exactly what I’m looking for. What’s more, they didn’t interrupt us at all! The two have learned their place well. I think they will fit right in.”

Their Sato san scratched the back of his head, sweating a little. This woman was very pushy.

“Girls,” she turned to the boys, “come here for a moment.” 

Uruha and Aoi walked over directly, coming to stand in front of her and bowing low. Her rank far outstripped their own and they couldn’t afford to be rude, even if they were confused.

“You see? Perfect manners. And such beauty!”

“Aahh, is that so?” Their Sato san answered her in a helpless sort of tone. 

Aoi and Uruha glanced between the two and each other, then down at their sandaled feet. What was this woman trying to get at?

“So will you agree? It would be a wonderful opportunity for them! Not many young women can begin so late, much less as kitchen servants! I’m sure they would be honored!” She turned to them. “Wouldn’t you?”

Aoi and Uruha looked at her, confused.

“Well, wouldn’t you?” She prompted impatiently.

Uruha quickly ducked his head. “Begging your pardon, madam, but we aren’t quite sure what you’re asking about.”

She blinked, surprised, and put a delicate hand to her forehead. “Of course, how silly of me!” She smiled and lowered her hand. “Well, joining the concubines is an honor, of course.”

Both their mouths fell open in shock. Aoi couldn’t hold back his words but also couldn’t seem to verbalize his thoughts, resulting in a few random stuttered words.

“You...us...concubines?”

She blinked as if she couldn't understand why they weren’t simply thrilled at the idea.

“Of course! You’ll have power, status, and comfort as you’ve never known before! And, if you’re lucky, the emperor will favor you. What more could two kitchen maidens ask for?”

Uruha and Aoi exchanged looks, turning pleading eyes to Sato san. He stared back helplessly for a moment before seeming to suddenly get a brilliant idea. 

The two were relieved for all of a second before he opened his mouth. 

“Yes! It’s a splendid opportunity, girls! You should be honored. I’ll help you gather your things!” He turned to face the head attendant. “Would you mind waiting for a moment? I’m sure they will want to bring some things with them.”

She sighed in a put upon fashion. “Fine, but they won’t need any of the clothes they have where they’re going.” She turned her back and began to walk towards the door. “Meet me in the gallery in an hour, I’ll take them from there.”

He bowed low, Aoi and Uruha following suit, though his aim was unclear to them. After she left, he ushered the boys out of the room and into their deserted sleeping quarters.

Once in there Aoi drew back from his pushing hands and turned on him, looking confused and betrayed.

“You want us to be concubines?! Do you realize that the emperor has sex with concubines? And we’re boys?!”

“Shh!” Uruha quickly shushed him as he was getting quite loud in his near hysteria. He turned to Sato san. “What are you trying to do? Concubines would be the worst positions for us.”

The man made a calming gesture. “I understand why you would think so, but listen. There’s no place safer! Nobody would ever suspect a concubine is a boy! As far as I know, those people haven’t stopped looking for you! And you two will be ranked so low that there’s almost no chance of ever even seeing the Emperor! It’s a win-win! You live in comfort and security and you’ll even have riches to boot!”

“Except where we get found out because we’re guys!” Aoi’s hot-headed retort followed quickly on the heels of that explanation.

The man shook his head sadly. “It’s more protection than I could ever give you.”

Silence settled over the three occupants of the room as they all stood there. Then, Uruha walked over to their futon and dropped wordlessly to it, picking up some things he had left on it that he thought he might want to take. After a few more moments’ hesitation Aoi seemed to be able to shelve his pride and came to help. 

Within the hour the two arrived in the gallery, their small amount of possessions in tow, resignation on their faces. They met the head attendant there, bowing deeply and thanking her for the “wonderful” opportunity.

“Oh, it’s nothing, my darlings. You’re going to take her down a notch so this works in both our favors, really. Now, come along!”

With that she swept off, the two reluctant boys following.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thoughts? They’re in hot water now!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So our boys grow up and begin to experience the woes of growing up while still pretending they are girls. Poor babies!

Life in the concubine quarters turned out to be a little different than what the boys had been led to believe. To begin with, the girls had already started training to master many arts the boys wouldn’t ever learn because of their late arrival. They did the best they could to replicate what they could see the other girls doing in terms of manners and behavior, but they still seemed to fall short of what was the standard expectation for ladies of their station. In addition, the boys found themselves subject to the hierarchy that, though not overt, had already formed. They quickly realized that if there was a lowest tier, they were a rung below even that. They were, it seemed instantly, subjected to subtle bullying and not so subtle taunting hidden only by the fluttering fans the girls used to pretend to hide their derision as they giggled amongst themselves and eyed the boys balefully.

Some of the girls bullied them into doing chores they didn’t feel like they had to, dumping piles of laundry on them and making up excuses about being tired while suggesting that the boys could do the same work in half the time because they didn’t need to “prepare for the emperor, anyway.” The matrons tended to disregard any slights against them under the notion that they would need to get used to such a way of speaking to survive in court. Uruha and Aoi suspected they had caused too much trouble for the matrons upon their initial placement, though, and that was why they were disliked enough for the matrons to let those barbs slide. So, when they would respond with something equally rude they were sharply reprimanded and loaded with even more unexpected chores. There was one particularly nasty matron, Yamada, that would assign them to clean the bathhouse, despite the boys being fairly certain that was the work of servants rather than budding concubines.

They didn’t complain, however, because this turned out to be in their favor. Nightly, they were the latest to return to the chamber they shared with the girls, which meant that they were the last ones to bathe. This worked perfectly for them, as having to strip down until completely naked would get them in trouble with not only the harem but also could put them in the sights of the bounty hunter who was still searching for the two boys from the wood. 

Within a year of being introduced into concubine society, Aoi began to experience the struggle of being a teenage boy in the midst of unsuspecting females. He was constantly surrounded by girls who, it seemed to him, would carelessly remove their clothing with little provocation. Surprisingly, this didn’t faze him as much as other thoughts did, and his seeming immunity to all things sexual changed rather abruptly. 

Suddenly, a series of dreams, surely provoked by the constant sex speculation that pervaded the girls’ quarters every evening after the day’s lessons, made Aoi feel a stirring in his belly that he couldn’t quite place. Before he could really sort out what that meant for him, his body reacted without him realizing that the consequences of this new feeling were very much prominent and sometimes left visible traces. On one particular morning, Aoi was awakened by sticky wetness on his nightdress that had penetrated through to his bedsheets. 

“What the…?” Aoi jumped out of his futon and pulled back the top cover and tried to see, in the semi-darkness of the predawn, what was on his bed. He could feel the liquid cooling unpleasantly on the skin of his crotch and the front of his shift.

Tired and frustrated with the mess he would have to clean before returning to sleep, he quickly stripped the sheets from his futon before making his way to the washroom. He grabbed spare clothes on his way and when he entered the washroom he located a bucket of water and began to scrub the wet spot on the sheets away vigorously. 

When he was satisfied that most of the stain was cleaned out, he tossed the sheets aside and undressed, wiping the sticky substance from his front and throwing the dress into the water as well, hoping he’d be able to complete the task before anyone else woke up. He put on his new clothes hurriedly and got to work on the other stain. When finished, he quickly wrung the cloth out and placed it on a drying rack where things from the day before had been laid out. He stood for a moment and ran a hand over his sleep-deprived face in disbelief. What had happened? 

He wrung out his sheets as best he could and hung them to dry, picking up fresh ones on his way back. Aoi put the sheets onto his futon as quietly as he could manage, glancing at Uruha in the futon next to him to see if he was stirring. He whispered a sigh of relief when he saw he hadn’t woken the other and crawled back into bed before sunrise. He fell back asleep and went about his day without thinking about it again.

Two days later the incident repeated itself.

“Shit!” Again, Aoi ran for the laundry room with his sticky sheets in the middle of the night. 

“You’re being way too obvious.” 

Aoi jumped, up to his elbows in the water bucket. He hadn’t changed yet, he couldn’t be caught now! 

He looked behind him and sighed in relief, head drooping as the tension left his shoulders. It was only Uruha. He looked back at the blond with pleading eyes.

“I don’t know what’s going on! Why is this happening?” Aoi moaned quietly, a full-blown pout taking over his face. 

Uruha’s eyes softened. He walked across the floor and over to Aoi, crouching down to look at the boy kneeling over the bucket. Aoi looked up at him, desperation for a solution written all over his face.

“You need to take care of it before it becomes an issue.” 

Aoi gestured towards his sheets. “I am taking care of it. I’m washing this right now!” 

Uruha shook his head. “Not the sheets. I mean your other issue.” He looked pointedly towards the younger's crotch.

Aoi’s eyes followed Uruha’s line of vision and he quickly looked back at the other’s matter of fact face, suddenly angry. “I have no control of that while I’m sleeping!” The brunet argued.

“If you don’t just do it yourself, this will continue to happen,” Uruha replied sagely, still matter of fact in his tone. Aoi just stared at him blankly.

“What’s going on here?” Aoi and Uruha whipped their heads around to see one of the matrons, barely visible in the dim light of one candle. It was Yamada san. Uruha giggled sheepishly placing a hand behind his head.

“Uh…” Uruha looked around, thinking quickly, “Aoi chan has begun to bleed,” he blurted. “It’s her first time. I was just helping her clean up.” Aoi, catching on quickly, nodded earnestly and looked embarrassed. 

The woman raised her candle and inspected the two. She looked Aoi up and down with disdain, noticing the wet spot on the front of his shift. Aoi quickly drew the sullied sheet closer to himself to cover up. 

“You need to be more careful with these things, Aoi. Now, hurry up and get back to bed. I can’t have you waking up the others. A tired face will not be allowed before the Emperor.”

“Yes madam,” they replied together, bowing. She eyed them beadily for a moment before turning and sweeping out, leaving them in near darkness once more. 

They finished up, Aoi cleaning himself up very quickly before throwing on a clean nightdress, and returned to bed quietly. Aoi tried to stay awake, afraid that if he fell asleep it might happen again. 

“Uruha…?” He whispered softly, trying to get the other’s attention. “Uruha?” He tried again a bit louder. 

“Shhhhhh!! Go to sleep!” One of the girls responded instead. 

Sharing a room with this many people was certainly not ideal. The space between futons was barely enough to walk through. Aoi turned and faced the wall on the other side of him, turning his back on Uruha and the rest of the futons in neat rows with an audible, “hmph.” He pulled the sheets over his head and tried to focus on something, anything, that would keep him awake. Unfortunately, he was far too tired and quickly succumbed to gentle slumber. 

Aoi woke up to Uruha’s hand over his mouth just a few hours later. 

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” came a low hiss next to his ear. Aoi blinked and looked around to see Uruha looking down on him. He pulled back to escape the hand on his mouth. 

“What?”

“You were making a lot of noise again. This is what you do and then there’s a mess!” The brunet could sense that Uruha was obviously annoyed despite the way he whispered in the softest possible tone. Aoi turned over to his back and the older teen could see the evident bulge plainly. “Take care of it!”

Aoi looked down at his crotch and saw his erection jutting up proudly. He threw his hands over it instantly, once again embarrassed. 

Uruha sighed. “Just jerk off. So you don’t keep waking up like this.” Aoi gave the blond an angry pout but made no move to do anything about his problem.

“Well?” Uruha prompted, waiting impatiently for Aoi to move. 

“Are you gonna just sit there and watch me do it?!” Aoi shot back when Uruha didn’t look away. 

The blond quickly turned and hid inside his covers before hissing, “Obviously not!” 

A moment of quiet passed in which Uruha didn’t hear any movement happening behind him and, once again, he turned back impatiently to the brunet who was still just sitting there staring at his lap. 

“Hurry up and do it! I’m tired of you waking me up every night over this.” The blond turned his back to Aoi again. 

There was another long stretch of silence broken only by the sleeping breaths of those surrounding the pair. Just as Uruha’s irritation at his inaction was starting to mount, Aoi broke the silence.

“...s’posed to do…’

The blond could hear the pout in Aoi’s voice but couldn’t understand what he was trying to say. He rolled over again, facing the brunet. 

“What?”

Aoi looked down at his hands fidgeting in his lap, glancing at the elder from under his lashes and then shyly turning his head away.

“I don’t know what I’m s’posed to do…”

Realization dawned on the blond’s features. Ah. Of course, he didn’t know. Why else would he be running to the washroom every night instead of dealing with the issue before it really became one? More importantly, why did Uruha have to be stuck with the task of explaining this?

He huffed a sigh, resigned to teaching Aoi. “You just—”

He broke off as one of the girls turned in her sleep and groaned, creating a wave of sleepy shuffles through the room. 

Uruha licked his lips and scooted closer to the other boy. He took a quick look around before licking his palm and sneaking it under Aoi’s blankets and beneath his clothes, placing it right on his dick. 

Aoi’s eyes shot up to Uruha’s, so wide the blond thought they might roll right out of his head. The brunet grabbed the wrist connected to the hand currently resting on his dick. 

“What are you—” Uruha reached up and slapped his other hand over the other boy’s mouth to silence his exclamation.

“Just,” Uruha shook his head, meeting the wide eyes with a determined look, “trust me.”

Brown eyes narrowed back to normal and the hand that had been clamped around the blond’s wrist loosened, allowing the blond free reign.

Uruha left his hand over the other’s mouth as he began to move his hand on the other’s hardness. Within seconds, Aoi was breathing hard as his friend picked up the pace. Uruha kept his eyes focused on his surroundings in case someone stirred or woke up.

Aoi’s eyes closed, air puffing from his nose and fanning the edge of Uruha’s palm as the brunet’s hips began to move along with his movements. For a moment, Uruha forgot to keep his eyes on his surroundings and looked at Aoi instead. 

It was probably his worst mistake. What possessed him to do what he was currently doing? He did not know. But watching the way Aoi’s body moved as his own hand brought him closer to climaxing made him feel things that he wasn’t sure he knew how to handle. 

The expression on his friend’s face stirred up a want that he wasn’t previously aware of and he had a sudden need to see more of that expression. In minutes it was over, Aoi letting out a strangled sound as he came all over Uruha’s hand. The blond quickly withdrew his hand from the other boy’s crotch.

“That’s how you take care of it,” the blond intoned quietly before standing up and tiptoeing off through the futons so he could wash his hands and give himself a moment to recover alone. 

He returned to find Aoi had fallen asleep again and he shook his shoulder to wake him, telling him to clean up quickly. The brunet nodded and moved off like a zombie, changing his clothes for the second time that night and returning to bed to fall into a peaceful slumber.

At least a week went by without further incident thanks to Uruha’s lesson. Unfortunately, ‘taking care of the problem’ wasn’t always possible when their day was filled with chores, and lessons, and their days all ended in a room full of people. 

On this particular night, Aoi was having trouble sleeping and no matter how hard he tried he couldn’t seem to finish off. He huffed exasperatedly and laid flat on his back. An idea quickly came to mind. The idea was one that he wasn’t sure he should act on but, given the circumstances, he decided to go along with it.

“Uruha.” He whispered as he inched closer to his friend. “Uruha…” he tried again, this time poking the other lightly on his shoulder until he turned around.

“What is it, Aoi? We’re gonna get in trouble if you keep this up.” 

“I can’t do it.”

“What?” Uruha turned around fully to face the brunet, brows furrowed as he asked the question.

“I can’t get off.”

“What are you telling me for?” He responded, a bit annoyed by being taken from his sleep for this. If there was one thing that Uruha treasured it was sleep, and Aoi was robbing him of it.

“Can…” Aoi stopped, wondering if he should really ask what he was about to. He could barely see Uruha’s light brown eyes in the dark staring back at him in the dim rays of moonlight that filtered through the small gaps in the planks that made up the window on the wall next to him. Aoi looked down uncomfortably as he allowed his thoughts to escape his mouth. “Can you do it?” 

Uruha’s eyes widened. The last time he had done it without thinking much about what it really meant. At least, he hadn't thought about it until he saw the look on Aoi’s face when he came. He knew then that it was something he shouldn’t have done and knew that the consequences would haunt his dreams forever. He never once expected that this would affect more than just his dreams. But it wasn’t right. He would not allow a repeat of it, he could still fix this.

“I’m not doing it.” He deadpanned. “I’m going back to sleep, so try to be quiet.” He pulled up his covers and hid under them, trying hard to not imagine the expression that might play on his friend’s face when he finally came undone. 

Aoi turned, facing the wall once again, and tried to do what he knew he should. He groaned in frustration after a few more minutes. He was so close, but he couldn’t quite get there. He huffed and threw his arms and legs against the covers as he laid, again, staring at the ceiling. Uruha turned to face him again, anger clear on his face until he saw a flustered Aoi. His resolve crumbled. He reached beneath the covers for Aoi’s dick and began stroking him. The brunet’s eyes closed briefly with relief before he was staring back at Uruha with a look that made the blond’s stomach clench. He pulled his hand from inside the brunet’s and held it out to Aoi.

“Lick it.” He commanded. 

“Why do I have to lick it?” Aoi just looked at it.

“Because it’s been on your dick and it’ll feel better for you if it’s not dry.” Aoi took his hand reluctantly but licked it properly despite his hesitation. The blond watched as Aoi’s tongue ran from his palm to the tip of his middle finger and then did it again. Uruha stared open-mouthed at the display, memorizing the sensation of the brunet’s soft tongue running across his hand. He pulled his hand away before Aoi could lick it a third time, not missing the way he stopped in surprise, ready to do it again. His own member twitched at the sight but he couldn’t afford to lose control. 

Uruha watched as Aoi closed his eyes and his hips moved in response as well. Aoi’s hand joined his, slowing down his movement, as he threw his head back and gasped out something that sounded very much like ‘Uruha,’ finally coming. The older boy watched as Aoi’s eyes opened slowly. Uruha could tell that his face was flushed, even in the darkness, Aoi smiled at him before quickly hiding his silent laughter in the pillow. He raised his head again and reached for Uruha’s crotch.

“What are you doing?” Uruha caught the brunet’s hand before he could reach him. 

“Returning the favor.” The younger stated that as if it was obvious. Did Uruha want him to return the favor? Absolutely. But, they’d gone far enough. This wasn’t supposed to have happened. As turned on as he was, the blond mustered every bit of self-control he could piece back together and placed Aoi’s hand back on Aoi’s bed.

“We shouldn’t be doing this. You should clean up and go to sleep.” Uruha reached for an article of clothing he had thrown earlier by the foot of his futon and wiped his hand on it. He was definitely still hard as a rock and getting out of bed in that condition was out of the question. 

———————————————————

Years went by and some of the women in the harem had now experienced being bedded by the emperor and now everyone was most certainly a rival for his affections. As a result, Uruha and Aoi spent more and more time running small errands due to the other women wanting to minimize the competition for being seen by the emperor. For the two young men, this was the perfect scenario. If they never had to stand before the emperor, they could continue this current existence without fear.

One day, while running these errands, Uruha stumbled upon a romantic scene playing out between two servants. He was simply walking by on his way to deliver a message when he came around a corner and saw a man pushing one of the kitchen maids against the wall as he kissed her, slipping his hand beneath her outerwear. Uruha pulled back and leaned on the wall, hiding. he knew this was something he wasn’t supposed to witness so he headed back the way he came and opted to take a longer route to his destination. 

As he walked, however, he couldn’t seem to shake the image from his mind. It was as if a new need had been awakened in him. He had been firm about not doing things with Aoi that they shouldn’t, but this urge was stronger than the one that made him want to jerk off for the sake of their hormonal urges. This need was pounding at his chest hard enough to make his heart beat erratically with just the thought alone. What a strange feeling. He chalked it up to residual hormonal imbalance. Despite being well past his early teenage impulses, he knew that there was still so much more that he had yet to experience. He was also well aware that there was much that he’d probably never get to. And he was alright with that fact. At least they’d live to see another day.

The rest of that week was a blur. He was used to seeing Aoi daily, but lately he’d caught himself staring a little more than usual. It was like he had become hyper aware of the way the other smiled or how he was currently concentrated on painting his nails as he sat alone in the corner on his futon. Uruha watched the younger man as he focused on making them neat, noting the way his tongue poked out just a bit. . . Uruha shook his head as if trying to shake the thought away. 

“Give me. Let me help you.” Aoi scooted over closer to his friend. “Why are you painting them anyway, do you have a date with the Emperor or something?” Uruha mocked him.

“We were told to do it, don’t you remember? Besides, I’m trying to stay on the Yamada san’s good side. We haven’t had to clean the bathhouse in over two weeks and I kind of like it.” Aoi knew it was silly, but a piece of him did also enjoy playing the part. Or at least made the best of it. 

The two smiled at each other as Uruha continued what Aoi had started. 

“Aoi?”

“Hm?”

“Have you ever kissed someone?” Aoi looked at Uruha with the most puzzled face he could possibly make until the blond finally looked up from his toenails to meet his eyes. 

“Oh, of course, the emperor and I had a moment earlier today,” he rolled his eyes. “Are you drunk? When, exactly, would I have had this opportunity?” Uruha almost laughed at the absurdity of his own question and turned his attention back to Aoi’s toes, shrugging. 

“It’s just, I saw the girl from the kitchen being kissed by someone outside.” 

“So what?” 

Uruha shrugged again. He wasn’t sure where he was going with this. 

“Were you feeling lonely, Uwu?” Aoi teased after a long pause. 

“What!? No, I was just making conversation—“

“Since when do you make conversation? I think you were jealous. Which kitchen girl?” Aoi put his hand to his chin appearing to be deep in thought. 

Uruha glared at the brunet. “Shut up, Aoi. Just stay still if you don’t want me to mess up.” 

The blond looked back down. He regretted mentioning anything at all. He should’ve known that Aoi would be immature about it. Aoi kept silent for a moment, watching as Uruha pretended to concentrate on the task, but he could tell that he was annoyed now. Aoi sat up and wrapped his arms around his legs, coming closer to the blond. 

“I bet that if you weren’t wearing those clothes, all of the girls in here would be lining up to kiss you.” Aoi smiled and Uruha’s heart stopped, but he managed a weak smile back. At that moment Uruha pictured all the pretty girls lining up to kiss him, yet he couldn’t think of anyone he wanted to kiss more than Aoi. That’s when he realized that he was in trouble. He thought of all the things that could go wrong with that scenario and how he’d embrace the flames if it was all for Aoi even as the fire burned everything to the ground. 

Uruha put the final touches on the brunet’s toenails. “There. All ready to see the Emperor.” Aoi laughed at his silliness. But was caught off guard by the response from one of the girls that had just walked into the room.

“Ha! As if the emperor would ever choose to see you.” Uruha rolled his eyes, knowing that this would only end in extra chores. “I don’t understand how you, country peasants, ever thought you could win the Emperor’s attention. Look at those big feet! You even smell low class! Did you think painting them would change anything?“

“Can you shut up? Are you jealous or something?” Uruha tried to defend Aoi as he remained silent, pulling his feet beneath his long skirt. “You really think the emperor is going to give a second look at your feet? He’ll probably be too busy trying to shut your stupid mouth by shoving his dick down your throat! That’s probably all you’re good for anyway.” The blond didn’t even know why he was arguing with them, he had long since stopped listening to anything the others said. Within seconds he was reminded exactly why it was best to stay quiet.

“Uruha!” The head matron called out as she approached them. 

Fuck. 

“That is no way for a lady of the court to speak!” She looked at the two “You two will be on clean up duty for a week, starting today.” 

Aoi’s face fell in disappointment. 

Later that evening the two were scrubbing away at the bathhouse. For whatever reason, there wasn’t the usual bickering between the two. The argument over who was more to blame for their current predicament never began. The two were lost in thought as the silence hung heavy over them. 

Aoi picked up the last bucket of water and rinsed the remaining suds on the stone floor. He sat on the edge of the short wall that surrounded the larger pool of water and sighed as he wiped the sweat from his brow.

Uruha picked up the last items from the floor and gathered them together before sitting next to Aoi, throwing his head back in exhaustion and exhaling loudly.

“Uruha?” The blond turned to the brunet who was staring at the floor in front of him. “Are you really jealous of that guy kissing the kitchen girl?”

“What?” Uruha had nearly forgotten about the earlier conversation.

“You asked me if I had kissed anyone… have you?” Aoi finally looked up at his friend through his lashes. Uruha watched as the younger looked away biting his lip, concern marring his brow.

“No. Don’t you think you would’ve known about it?” Uruha quipped. 

Aoi shrugged. 

“If it ever happens, you’ll be the first to know.” 

The brunet simply nodded in response and looked away. 

“What’s wrong, Aoi?” The blond could sense that there was something Aoi wasn’t saying. He could read him like an open book. From every look, the way he fidgeted, the way he always avoided looking him in the eye when he was lying or hiding something from him, Uruha knew Aoi wasn’t telling him everything. “Aoi, look at me.” The brunet reluctantly looked up. “Talk to me.”

Aoi sighed and looked at the floor. 

“What if no one ever wants to kiss me? What if I’m stuck wearing women’s clothing and hiding for the rest of my life and no one ever falls in love with the real me?” 

Uruha’s heart dropped to his feet. How could someone not fall in love with the real Aoi? The blond reached for his friend and put his arm around him, pulling him close enough to rest the side of his head on the top of the brunet’s. 

“Aoi, I think that even in those clothes you could have the girls lining up to kiss you if you really wanted.” 

Aoi pulled back to look at the blond. 

“Must be a really small line because I’ve never seen it. It’s not like I would even know what to do.” Aoi nearly pouted.

“I’m sure you’ll figure it out when the time comes.” 

“What if that time never comes?”

“Do you want me to kiss you, Aoi?”

“No.” Aoi turned away and Uruha smiled to himself. He was so easy to read. He always knew when Aoi wanted something but the brunet would dance around the subject because he was too afraid to ask. 

“Alright then. I guess I’ll just have to practice with someone else.” Aoi quickly looked up at him, betrayal in his eyes. Uruha chuckled. “Turn towards me, we’re gonna do this so neither one of us has to wonder.”

Uruha always knew how to make the other feel at ease. Aoi turned towards him and instantly closed his eyes, puckering his lips. Uruha nearly choked as he tried to contain his laughter. 

“What are you doing?” He laughed, not managing to hold it in. “You look ridiculous!” 

“Well, what am I supposed to do then?!” Aoi opened his eyes, instantly offended. 

“Alright, alright, maybe just don’t do that. Just sit still.” Aoi did as instructed and Uruha tried to gather the courage to press his lips to the brunet's. He leaned in closer and Aoi just looked back at him, then around the room and pursing his lips while he waited. Just before the blond would’ve touched his lips, the younger looked at him and Uruha lost his valor.

“Don’t stare at me!” He urged as he pulled all the way back again. 

“Well, you told me not to close my eyes.” Aoi threw his hands in the air in defeat and Uruha hung his head.

“Fine! Close your eyes and just stay,” he gestured broadly at Aoi, “still.” Aoi closed his eyes and pursed his lips again as seconds passed without anything happening. Uruha simply stared at his lips, suddenly feeling parched and he swallowed hard. 

“Are you going to do it or what?” The younger squinted one eye open, trying to see what the other was doing.

“Stop peeking!” Uruha scolded. Aoi nearly scrunched his entire face up as he shut his eyes again and Uruha did it. He placed a short peck on the corner of his mouth. He was so nervous that he nearly missed altogether as he almost chickened out at the last second. Aoi didn’t move and Uruha just looked around the bathhouse waiting for a response.

“Is it done?” Aoi peeked again and watched as Uruha was no longer paying attention to him. “Are you not gonna do it?!” He accused the other and the blond looked back at him, now being the one offended.

“I already did it!”

“Ehhhh…!? That was it?!” Aoi looked at him with a mix of confusion and disappointment. 

“Well, what did you want? Me to stick my tongue in your mouth?!” 

The brunet simply blinked in response, like the answer was obviously yes. Uruha just stared back in disbelief with his mouth gaping like a fish as he tried to find a proper rebuttal. As he struggled, Aoi leaned in, pressing his own lips to the blond’s with a little more force than necessary. They both pulled back with an audible ‘ow’ as they each rubbed their mouths from having clashed too quickly together. 

Their experiment so far had been a total failure. Aoi sat looking at the ground again while Uruha looked around awkwardly until his eyes caught sight of Aoi looking at him with disappointment evident in his expression again. Their eyes met and they both smiled silently at their silliness. 

Uruha rubbed his face with his hand as he sighed deeply and placed it on the stone, that turned out to be right on top of Aoi’s hand. Neither of them made any effort to correct this and so their hands remained touching. A moment passed as they sat there, not looking at each other, with their hands in direct contact. Aoi thought he might lose his mind if someone didn’t do something soon. His hand was on fire, sending sparks through his body from the touch. 

For as long as Aoi could remember, Uruha had always been in his life. He couldn’t picture a single day without the other. They played together, got into trouble together, went into this semblance of existence together, and always made the best of it, always together. Being in close proximity was nothing new. They’d done much more intimate things than this, yet sitting alone like this, hands touching, made him feel more deeply connected to Uruha than ever before.

Aoi looked up to see his friend. He stared at his profile as if seeing him for the first time. He eyed him up and down, noticing every feature that felt so familiar and somehow different at the same time. 

Uruha looked up, meeting Aoi’s gaze. He noticed the way Aoi’s lips parted just a fraction as he breathed in and out, his expression suddenly serious. He was so used to Aoi goofing off and smiling back at him that this felt new. He was no longer the little kid that would run after him and cry ‘Uru!’ whenever he needed saving, the one who trusted Uruha to be his everything and have the solution to every problem. He was all grown up.

This Aoi was exuding confidence and was drawing him closer with that heated gaze. The blond couldn’t tear his eyes from those lips but didn’t miss how the other was doing the same. Uruha ran his hand up the other’s arm and over his shoulder to cup the side of the brunet’s face. He was acting on instinct alone; all reason thrown to the wind. He ran his thumb across Aoi’s bottom lip and unconsciously bit his own, suddenly feeling desperate to taste it. He leaned in closer with his eyes glued to those lips like they held his last breath and he would drown if he looked away for even a moment. As he closed the gap between the two of them he could feel the other’s breath fan against his own lips. He was close enough to touch them.

“Don’t move, alright?” He whispered against Aoi’s mouth, inflection nearly a plea. If he lost his nerve now he was sure he might lose his mind along with it. 

“I won’t.” Aoi breathed back, lips feather light against Uruha’s. 

When they finally met, it was soft and neither dared move at first. Uruha closed his eyes, wanting to focus on feeling the way Aoi’s lips pressed against his own. It wasn’t enough. He wanted to taste the other, needed to, needed more. 

His thumb was still resting just below Aoi’s bottom lip and he used it to tug the full lip down lightly, just enough to let Aoi know to open his mouth and let him in. The result was more astonishing than he had believed possible. His tongue searched for the other’s as their lips moved against each other. He was in heaven and he didn’t want it to ever end. 

The blond placed his other hand against Aoi’s cheek, holding him in place while he devoured him. He caught the younger’s bottom lip between his teeth and bit it lightly. Aoi moaned in response. Fuck! Something definitely stirred within him at that sound. He could feel himself getting hard and his whole body felt on fire. He delved again inside of Aoi’s mouth, searching for more but Aoi pulled back suddenly, breathless. 

“Some— ” 

Uruha couldn’t control himself, he dove in again, kissing the other harder this time, enough to cause him to nearly whimper in response. He pressed on until he felt Aoi’s hand on his chest, pushing him away, harder this time. “Somebody is coming!” Aoi managed, still breathless, and unable to look away from the blond. Uruha stared at him, face flushed until he heard footsteps coming closer. The two jumped back, and adjusted themselves to hide how obviously turned on they were. Aoi quickly grabbed the bucket while Uruha grabbed the brush and pretended to continue cleaning. 

That night, after their usual routine of taking turns bathing while one guarded the entrance, the two collapsed onto their futons, completely exhausted. Aoi turned away from the wall he often faced to see Uruha instead. The blond opened his eyes the moment he realized that the other had turned to face him. They stared at each other in the darkness, aided by nothing but shards of moonlight leaking through the window slats. 

Uruha gazed with an almost enchanted look on his face as he watched Aoi snuggle inside his blanket and make himself comfortable on the pillow. After a moment he puckered his lips softly, pretending to blow Aoi a kiss. The brunet hid his face in his pillow, trying to contain his happy giggle. 

When he returned his gaze to Uruha, he watched the blond smile and gave an answering smile before silently blowing a kiss in the other’s direcion. How he wished it was the real thing. Kissing Uruha had become an instant addiction, one that he couldn't imagine relinquishing. They slept well that night, each in their own dreamland with the other, lying so close, yet so far. 

Among the abundance of chores that they were commanded to attend the night before, Aoi was tasked with airing out the futons. He rolled one up and headed for the door down the hallway to complete his task. Just before he could reach the exit, however, he was pulled unexpectedly into a short dead end. 

“Wha—” a hand was placed over his mouth to keep him quiet. He lowered the futon he was carrying when he noticed it was Uruha. He looked at the blond with slight concern as Uruha took his hand from the brunet’s mouth and peered around the corner to make sure the coast was clear. Uruha returned his attention to the shorter man with a devilish smirk on his face. Before Aoi could process what was happening, Uruha’s lips were on his and his hands cupping the brunet’s face. Once he realized that he was being kissed, though, the younger man wasted no time dropping the futon he was still holding onto the floor and wrapping his arms around the blond. 

Uruha wasn’t wasting any time. The blond pressed against him, effectively trapping him between his body and the wall. Aoi moaned in response but the older man pulled back with a ‘shhhhh’. Aoi understood and pulled the blond into himself again, tilting the other’s head to recapture his lips, wanting more of him. The brunet threaded his fingers through blond hair, pulling him in and tugging lightly in desperation. The sound of voices turning down the long hallway brought them abruptly back to reality. They pulled back, Aoi quickly picking up the futon and heading out the door. Uruha dropped to his hands and knees once again as he resumed the cleaning he was supposed to have been doing the entire time.

The voices they’d heard were none other than a group of other concubines that were giggling as they walked past. One slowed down, noticing Uruha on the floor in the small hallway and making a comment to the others, plenty loud enough for the blond to hear clearly.

“I don’t understand why they are even here. They’re more like servants than concubines, always being given ridiculous chores. I hope I never have to do those things.”

Uruha ignored them with surprising ease, his mood lifted by his momentary encounter with Aoi. They were both alive and safe, and all the better for the chores to stay out of sight of the emperor. That could only lead to problems, anyway, considering they were actually both male.

That was the first but far from the last of these little indiscretions. Lusty kisses in hidden corners eventually escalated into more as the two looked for any reason to be alone, anywhere, anytime they could manage.

On one particular day, all were outside for some free time. The boys didn’t waste any time escaping the group and taking off on their own. Having lived in the servants quarters for a large part of their time at the castle, they knew the area well. Uruha suddenly grabbed Aoi’s wrist and led them into the woods just outside of where they once used to live with the man who had so generously taken them in on that fateful night. Like many times before, he pinned Aoi to a nearby tree and began kissing him without restraint. The blond pressed against him hard enough to feel the other’s arousal and Aoi ground his hips against the blond. 

Uruha looked around and, seeing no one, decided to take their make out session to the next level. He ducked down, picking up Aoi’s dress enough to slip his hand beneath it. He caressed his soft thighs and groped his pert butt as he continued kissing him with even more fervor. Aoi’s hands idly searched for Uruha as well; over their clothing he began to palm his cock, stroking it slowly.

While Uruha had jerked him off before many years ago, this time was different. Uruha had meant it when he’d concluded they couldn’t continue and Aoi hadn’t dared ask after that one time due to the blond’s apparent unwillingness to do it again. So, the feeling of hands that weren’t his own on him was a shock made all the more delightful by the fact that it was Uruha’s long fingers brushing gently over the soft skin of his hard cock.

Aoi moaned into the blond’s mouth at the first contact, trying desperately to return the favor but fumbling so his palm just rubbed over the layers of fabric on Uruha’s front, distracted by the way Uruha’s lips and hands worked over his bare skin. 

Uruha pushed him harder against the tree, the bark digging into his back despite his clothing being a layer between. Somewhere in the back of his mind there was a thought about getting into trouble for ruining his clothing, but it was quickly drowned by the sensations making him unable to focus on anything but Uruha. His whole existence revolved around Uruha. His whole world consisted of only Uruha and, at this moment, nothing mattered more than Uruha and the way he was touching him and kissing him. Who would’ve thought that he’d ever feel this was about his friend? No one could’ve possibly warned him about the hunger he’d one day feel for the blond. If Aoi could consume the blond with kisses alone he would, and Uruha would gladly let him have that satisfaction.

He groaned when the blond stopped, pushing a pale thigh between the blond’s legs in an attempt to make the other man feel half as good as he did. Uruha pulled away from the messy kiss they were sharing, and Aoi was moments away from demanding an explanation when his mouth fell open, eyes widening, pupils blown at the sight before him. As he watched, the blond brought the hand that had been rubbing Aoi’s, no doubt, precome smeared dick up to his own face and licked his palm deliberately slowly, eyes burning with lust and swirling with an emotion Aoi was floored to recognize in his own heart. He had never seen anything so sexy and he quickly abandoned trying to help the blond rub one out over his clothes in favor of grabbing handfuls of his clothing and yanking the other forward, recapturing his lips. Tasting his own essence on the other’s tongue in the process, and triggering a new sudden urge with it.

He groaned, biting the other’s thin lips as that wet hand went back to his dick, sending a flood of heat right to his groin, thinking once more of Uruha’s pink tongue sliding through the beginnings of the sticky mess left there by his own essence.

With a violent shudder and a shocked moan Aoi came, sinking his teeth into his bottom lip as his head thunked back against the tree behind them. His knees went weak and he collapsed unexpectedly into the blond in front of him. 

Uruha stumbled back, trying to catch the brunet but failing to hold him up. Aoi’s knees hit the soft earth gently as they both struggled to maintain balance, the brunet’s face buried into the blond’s hip as they both started laughing at the unexpected fall. The blond threw his head back, exposing his oft hidden adam’s apple in a loud laugh as Aoi grabbed his hips and pushed himself back so he was kneeling. The brunet couldn’t help laughing along with him. 

It had been a while since his knees had been that weak and he blamed the other man for this sudden lapse in ability to stand. The image of the beautiful man’s tongue lapping slowly over his precome smeared hand was enough to bring back some of the lust that had abated upon Aoi reaching climax though. It was enough to make him think of Uruha, still needy and wanting, the bulge under his clothing still very visible. A faint inkling of an idea passed through Aoi’s still lust muddled mind as he saw this.

“You fell!” The blond was looking down at him, face still filled with mirth at the brunet’s expense. 

Aoi grinned sheepishly and snuck his hand under Uruha’s clothing, tracing his fingers up narrow thighs and shifting the fabric so Uruha’s cock was just visible behind a split in the cloth. The blond stiffened, eyeing the other a little apprehensively, trying to gauge his reaction.

The brunet kept his gaze focused on what was in front of him, not hesitating as he wrapped his fingers around the length of it and began pumping. The blond’s eyes closed and he groaned quietly, reaching a hand out in front of him to brace against the same tree that Aoi’s back had been braced on before. 

The idea from earlier was back in the brunet’s mind, more persistent this time as Aoi watched the first bead of precome form and spill over onto his own hand. He bit his lip and scooted closer to the other, one hand continuing to play over the soft steel of the blond’s erection. If he did this he couldn’t deny it anymore. He thought about what Uruha had done earlier, looking up at his face, his furrowed brow, wondering where he would be if he didn’t have the other, and his mind was made up. He wanted to do his.

He kneeled up, hand slowing to a stop as he tilted the tip of the blond’s erection toward his mouth.

Uruha’s eyes opened and popped wide at the sight of the brunet’s tongue mere centimeters from his dick.

“Aoi—” 

The blond’s words were stopped at the first tentative swipe of a soft tongue over the crown of his dick. He moaned loudly, both hands coming down to bury themselves in the other’s hair as Aoi’s wide mouth covered the head of his dick, tongue sliding along the tip before pulling back and sliding down again, taking a little more inside the warm cavern that was his mouth each time he repeated this action. 

Uruha’s fingers clenched hard in Aoi’s hair as the dark haired man experimented, tongue sometimes sliding over the bottom and sides and mouth encompassing as much as was possible for him other times. Uruha could only hold on as the assault continued and it wasn’t long at all before he, too, was coming. 

Without even a moment’s warning Uruha came, just as Aoi’s lips slid off the tip of his dick one final time. The ropes of come splattered unexpectedly across Aoi’s face without direction. Uruha dropped to his bottom, legs splayed, totally spent, as he looked at the brunet, too stunned to do anything for a moment. 

Uruha watched as Aoi blinked, mouth slightly agape and a trail of white right across the corner of his lips. The brunet’s tongue came out, flicking over the corner of his mouth to swipe up some of the mess and then retreated back into his mouth. 

The blond was speechless as he watched, entranced by the sight as Aoi tested out the flavor on his tongue before reality came crashing down on him. 

“Aoi!” The brunet blinked, startled.

“What?” He asked, perturbed.

“We need to get you cleaned up before we go back. The sun is setting!” The blond indicated the grey color coming through the canopy leaves above them.

“...Oh.” The brunet looked slightly crestfallen but Uruha didn’t have long to contemplate what that was about before he had shuffled over and started to wipe the other’s face roughly with the inside of his own dress. 

The two quickly straightened up as best they could before making their way down the path and out through the woods, ignoring the people still sitting outside on the veranda as they scuttled past and met up with the group that was just returning inside. 

As they were the last to arrive, the matrons gave no pause before assigning them laundry collection duty, once again ensuring they would be the last to bed and the least well rested of the group but securing their nightly routine of bathing in the process. 

Uruha watched the entrance first, giving Aoi the opportunity to go first and wash off the remainder of the mess they’d made earlier. When Aoi was clean and dressed, just as Uruha was sinking down into the tub, Aoi spoke, his back stiff. 

“Uruha…”

“Hm?” Uruha began cleaning himself up quickly.

“Was that...ok?”

Uruha paused and blinked. They both knew what Aoi was talking about. 

“Are you kidding me?” The blond couldn’t hold back the incredulous reply. “How could that be anything but good?”

The brunet’s shoulders, which had stiffened with the first words now relaxed. 

“Oh.” A moment of silence passed and then Aoi turned a devilish smirk on the blond. “Good, then you can do it for me next time,” he chirped.

Uruha laughed and the two finished up quickly, dropping into their futons like stones. 

This would be the first of their forays into the woods but far from their last. Little did they know that they were now under a certain amount of scrutiny and their days of carefree wandering off were near an end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There it is! The filth begins for these two. ;) This is just the beginning.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are about to change for our favorite two little country bumpkins!

Kai’s dark eyes followed the two concubines’ escape into the forest closely. This wasn’t the first time he’d seen them around and not even the first time he’d noticed them. These two had a different air about them than the other concubines he’d been with. They seemed to always arrive unexpectedly when he was out with his new fiancé. Likely, he just noticed them more frequently when he was with her because she bored him near to death with her simpering attitude and cloying manner. It was so fake he sometimes felt he was choking on the atmosphere as he tried to claw his way out of the situation.

He knew why she had been chosen; his stepmother certainly had a knack for finding the dimwitted power seekers, being one herself. He knew he’d little choice in the matter and at least this girl was neither too ugly to deal with nor too smart to handle. He had been walking in the gardens with the future empress when he’d first seen the two concubines his eyes now sought amongst the tangled tree branches of the wood they had disappeared into. 

It had been a rather gray day, the sun burning palely behind obscuring clouds and he’d needed to get out of the house. His real intention had been to achieve some silence from all the people that sought to control his future under the guise of wise advice. However, he had not achieved this end as his ever present stepmother had spotted him as he set foot onto the planks of the veranda. 

She had stopped for a moment and suggested that he would be glad for the company of his devoted fiancé, not waiting for a response from the emperor before having the servants call her. So what should have been an hour free of obligations became anything but as he strolled leisurely around the garden with his soon to be bride on his arm as she babbled incessantly of any and all things banal. The chatter soon turned into just a buzz in his ear as he cast his eye around a garden he’d seen too many times to count, looking for something that might relieve his mind of the burden of boredom. 

He was pleasantly surprised when his attention was drawn to two figures doing something he had never seen done before in his presence. They appeared to be playing. 

They were too far away for Kai to hear anything but the occasional distant burst of laughter as the two yanked on each other’s clothes and ran around trying to catch one another. How long had it been since he’d been allowed to be so carefree? 

“...sama? Are you alright, Emperor sama?”

He blinked and looked down, meeting his fiancé’s eyes briefly before offering a closed lip smile and a nod. It was unlikely that she was worried about his health anyway. Rather, she would be annoyed at his inattention, he was sure. He tried not to be distracted as much after that, even as his eyes strayed to the far more interesting scene he only wished he could be a part of.

He’d seen them a handful of times after that, once even getting scolded for their behavior as they knelt in the gravel beside a small shrine in the center of the courtyard. He’d nearly winced as he thought of the gravel digging into their delicate legs as they sat in seiza for well over an hour as punishment. The two had stood at the end of their punishment and wobbled off gripping each other for support as the sound of their laughter floated into Kai’s ears as he sat in a dull meeting with his advisors. 

Kai turned his gaze back to his stepmother and fiancé, with whom he’d been sharing tea when he saw the girls wander into the forest unchaperoned, in an effort to maintain a modicum of decorum while really searching the treeline for their return. 

When they reappeared at last he was shocked to see the state they were in. Their clothes were a mess and each of their hair was mussed in a way that was familiar to Kai when in a very different setting than the forest into which the two had disappeared. He couldn’t see them perfectly from where he was now seated but his imagination had already run amok when he’d seen them go into the woods, triggering a lingering lust that only increased when he saw in what state they had returned. 

Not fifteen minutes later there was a flood of his concubines into the courtyard, all sitting down in small clumps on the grass facing a matron who was brandishing a small, sharp object and pointing at a pattern on sheer fabric stretched across an embroidery hoop. She appeared to be lecturing all of them. 

As luck would have it, the two disheveled (though slightly less so now) concubines he had been watching earlier had taken up seats at the back of the crowd and very near to the palace’s screened veranda, right where the Emperor was no longer even attempting to conceal his disinterest in the trite conversation his stepmother and fiancé were attempting to engage him in. 

Instead, he watched as the brunette reached a sneaky hand out while the blonde was distractedly attempting to follow the instructions of the matron, who was now walking amongst the concubines, and shove the blonde’s shoulder, immediately turning back to her own fabric and pretending to concentrate on the task at hand. The blonde gaped for a moment, looking down at the stitch she had screwed up in disbelief before turning a look that clearly said she would have her vengeance on the brunette. 

Within the next thirty seconds Kai saw the blonde’s hand reach out in a flash, landing on the brunette’s bottom as she sat forward on her knees to work on her embroidery and giving it a hard pinch. 

The brunette yelped, grabbing her rear as Kai’s face split into a wide smile and the dark haired one tackled the blonde to the ground, apparently forgetting all sense of decency.

The emperor stood abruptly, ignoring the shocked gasps of the two women at the low table with him, quickly crossing the tatami mat floor and stepping out to find his advisor, who had been waiting outside the whole time.

“Come here.”

He ushered the other man into the room far enough to see the two concubines being led off with their heads down by an angry looking matron.

“Who are those two concubines?” Kai pointed, looking inquiringly at the advisor.

The other man looked surprised by this line of questioning, glancing past the emperor to the women who sat in a kind of horrified silence at the tea table. He looked back to meet Kai’s eyes trained on him as if prompting him for an answer.

“Well, your majesty, they were just some scullery maids that were chosen to become concubines by the matron that just led them away. Really, far too low class to be worth your time. Especially when one considers the well aligned, stunning, and chosen bride to be waiting so patiently for your return to the table.”

Kai gave his fiance a cursory glance as she straightened up and smiled coyly at him. He looked back at his most trusted advisor. 

“I’ll decide what’s worth my time. I want to meet them. Send them to the throne room in fifteen minutes.”

The other man spluttered as both his fiancé and stepmother’s expressions twisted into ugly scowls, Kai turning and sweeping towards the door.

“B-but, your majesty! That’s not even enough time for them to ready themselves for you! Surely, you want to wait a day…?”

The emperor didn’t even look back as he walked out the door and down the hallway, throwing a casual, “You heard what I said,” over his shoulder as he strode away. 

——————————————————————————————

Aoi and Uruha winced as they sat in seiza with heavy weights on their legs. Their knees felt like they might crack under the pressure as Ito san paced back and forth in front of them, glaring angrily down at them as she went. 

“I took you in and this is how you repay me?!” She snapped the fan that had been fluttering frantically in front of her face closed. “By behaving like scoundrels?!” She stopped to look down at them as they stared at the floor. 

“I ought to send both of you back to the kitchen!” She closed her fan again, jabbing the end of it at them to emphasize her point. “You’ve embarrassed me and yourselves,” she opened her fan and resumed her pacing, “in front of the emperor! We had specifically designed this event so the emperor could get a good look at all you girls and what do you do?” She whirled to face them again. “You screw it all up by acting like absolute guerillas!”

She took a deep breath and continued. “Perhaps everyone was right about you and you don’t have what it takes. Just a couple of ugly little country bumpkins who don’t belong!”

The boys shared a look at that.

“You’ll be lucky if it’s just back to the kitchens with you for that stunt you just pulled!” Her voice had turned menacing. “I’ll put you out on the streets and you’ll become filthy vagrants with no home. You’d be lucky to be raped by somebody who shines the emperor’s shoes,” she hissed.

Uruha and Aoi shared another look, this one slightly frightened. If she put them out their lives would definitely be in more jeopardy than they were in their current position.

She stood straight and leaned back, leering down at them with a hysterical glint in her eyes. 

“How would that be, girls? I can see—” She cut herself off as a soft knock sounded at the door, and turned to answer it.

The boys heard the hushed murmurs through the paper door as Ito san stepped out and closed it behind her. 

Not daring to speak, Uruha reached a hand out to Aoi’s, snatching it into his own. The brunet looked up at him, fright in his eyes at the weight of the prospect that they had been threatened with came down on him. The blond squeezed the hand he was holding reassuringly and abruptly pulled it back when he heard hurried steps approach the doorway. 

Ito san burst in again, looking frantic but ecstatic.

“Girls,” she cried, hands clasped together over her bosom, “girls! Oh the most wonderful news just arrived!” She seemed to have forgotten their misbehavior, though Aoi and Uruha were struggling to do anything but remember with the weight on their legs and in their minds nearly crushing them. “The emperor wants an audience,” she paused, looking at them each individually, “with the two of you!”

Aoi’s mouth fell open and Uruha just stared, both temporarily forgetting themselves in the flood of thoughts abruptly saturating their minds.

“Oh we must get you spruced up! He wants to see you immediately! He didn’t even give us proper time to bathe you! We need to hurry and make you both as presentable as possible!” She shuffled quickly over to Uruha and helped him take the weight off his knees. He immediately turned and helped Aoi do the same under her impatient prompts of “quickly, quickly now.”

Five minutes later they’d been rushed into formal kimono over their shifts, their hair styled much more elaborate than it had been mere minutes before due to several sets of hands working together to create a look worthy of being seen by the emperor. Their faces were powdered and painted, and their feet pushed roughly into shoes that were much too small for their feet. 

The boys had experienced a complete reversal from their everyday selves. The two appeared every inch the concubines they were meant to be. They were led, stumbling on the high platform sandals afforded to them, along the corridors to the Emperor’s throne room where they were given one last inspection by Ito san, who’d housed them in hopes that this very day might come. 

“You’re ready.” She beamed as she patted each of their cheeks gently. “Don’t embarrass me.” Her tone was steely and demanding again before she stepped around behind them and gently pushed them forward as the double doors to the throne room opened to allow them entrance. 

As they took the first few steps into the throne room they looked demurely at the floor, in part due to propriety, but, mostly, so they could keep their balance. One glance up, however, and they couldn’t tear their eyes away from all the finery on display in the room, not the least of which was the emperor. Aoi’s mouth gaped slightly as he stared around himself in wonder.

However, all this looking around them caused the two to lose their balance and stumble, rather ungracefully due to both their distinct lack of practice in walking on the footwear adorning their feet and the largeness of their feet on tiny shoes. They ended up grabbing each other for balance more than once, throwing nervous looks towards the emperor intimidatingly seated on his golden throne, looking down at them, observing their ineptitude without comment. 

When they reached the base of the elevated throne they each sank into deep bows and awaited instructions to rise.

As the silence stretched the two became increasingly more nervous. Maybe the emperor didn’t want to see them for their customary duties, as Ito san believed, but to kick them out himself for being such disgraces. 

“I should be disgusted,” the emperor broke the silence abruptly, “by your display earlier.”

The two stiffened even further.

“I should be even more disgusted,” he continued, “by the way you just walked in here. You’ve clearly no idea how to walk in those shoes. Are you positive you are trained enough to be concubines at all?”

He still hadn’t given the two permission to rise from their bowing positions and they glanced at each other nervously. 

“And that too. That look you just shared. I should be annoyed.”

There were footsteps descending the stairs now and the two saw the hem of the emperor’s loose yukata swing into view. 

“But I’m not.” 

He sounded thoughtful as he walked between them and around them, his fingertips skimming their silk clothed backs before he walked back between them and returned to his throne. 

“Raise your heads.”

The two obeyed immediately, both sets of eyes meeting the emperor’s directly. Both Aoi and Uruha were staring up at the emperor with challenging eyes but blinked in surprise when the man let out a delighted laugh upon seeing that, the sound echoing through the vast hall. 

“I knew it! Exactly as I expected.” Aoi and Uruha exchanged confused looks.

“That spirit is exactly what I need!”

————————————————————————-  
The two returned that evening to their own quarters, chatting happily and laughing quietly as they attempted not to wake the others. They needn’t have bothered as the whole room was still awake when they arrived, pestering them for details they wouldn’t give. 

More accurately, couldn’t give. The emperor, Kai they’d been told to call him, hadn’t even touched them aside from that one moment in their initial meeting. Instead, they had lounged around, played games, talked, and had really done nothing of any particular note. If anything, meeting the emperor was more like trying to make a new friend than a sexual deviation. 

“Ah,” one of the girls said after yet another attempt the boys made to deflect the conversation, “I know what it is. You guys haven’t seen it yet.” She nodded as she stared at them. “Just wait ‘til you do.” She looked around her now, noticing that she had all the girls’ attention glued to her. “I’ve heard he likes to stick it in your butt and that he’s massive.” She laughed viciously. “You girls won’t last one minute, if the rumors are true.” Her eyes glinted maliciously. “I heard the first one he did it to wouldn’t stop bleeding and they had to send her back to her family like that.” 

She rolled over and settled on her futon.

“Guess we won’t be seeing you two for much longer then. Hope you don’t have nightmares, ladies.”

This seemed to close the conversation and while the boys were relieved as the rest of the girls quietly settled into their futons that the conversation had ended, they also had a new fear to contend with. Her casually tossed words, even if they weren’t true, brought up another issue that the two hadn’t before considered. What if Kai did want to fuck them? That’s what they were there for, so why wouldn’t he? And, if the rumors really were true, both their asses were in danger. What were they supposed to do? 

———————————————————————-

Things played out quite differently than the two expected. Kai called for them nearly daily and the two responded with increasing levels of eagerness as they all became closer. Kai never asked more from them than spending time, but the idea that he eventually would want them to perform their duties was always a presence in the back of the boys’ minds. 

Somehow every time they went to see Kai, though, that conversation never seemed to come up and it was easy to ignore when the three were having so much fun together. At first, the pair was convinced that Kai calling on them had been a one time only deal. The other concubines did plenty of ridiculing over the days following when the Emperor didn't immediately call for them after that first time and the two were easily convinced that the day wouldn't come when they had to go see him again. 

Despite knowing they should be offended by either the emperor’s lack of attention, or the girls’ rude opinions and snide comments, the two were truly a little relieved. The less contact they had with him, the better in their minds. The closer they got to the emperor, the closer the ruler might be to finding out their secret which was something the two were especially desperate to conceal.

With that mentality, the two were unpleasantly surprised when the call came for them a few days later. Kai had asked for them to come as they were, so they luckily avoided the lengthy preparation process again. They proceeded to the emperor’s rooms acting in the same manner they had tried to maintain the last time they had seen him, trying to be quietly refined.

They did slightly better at it this time as they each had removed the shoes their feet had been hastily forced into (against the emperor's wishes, but how could the matrons let them show their faces looking like the scullery maids they’d been treated as?) the instant they left their chaperones’ presence. They knew by doing this that if the emperor wasn't what the two had come to expect upon first meeting him that they would deeply offend him but they just couldn't take it! The stupid things didn't fit and even if they pretended to be girls they had their pride as men and would walk standing tall! 

They waited patiently by the double sliding doors to Kai’s chambers, still nervous about entering in their state, unsure of the emperor’s reaction as the guards gave them contemptuous looks. The two barely had their hair pulled back and had been working on chores all morning long so their fatigue was visible on their unmade up faces. They had dirt beneath their nails and, like before, a fancy kimono covering the sullied shifts they had been wearing underneath their yukata while dusting and sweeping earlier that day. If they moved just right the stains would on their underclothes would peek out. 

After five minutes passed without any sign of the emperor, Aoi glanced at Uruha for reassurance and shifted from foot to foot. He wondered if the guards had some sort of signal when the concubines were too gross to be presented and looked himself and Uruha over, eyes sweeping over the graceful line of Uruha’s spine. His posture was so perfect that Aoi felt his own insecurities surface. He reached out without thinking and shoved his shoulder, sending the other flailing to the floor with a loud thump and a surprised “oof!” just as the door opened. 

Kai’s eyes shifted between the two of them, from Aoi’s arm hanging in the air to Uruha’s stunned look, and then back to Aoi who had snapped his hand back to his side and was now looking contritely at his socked feet.

After a moment’s silence the emperor’s face broke into a wide smile and he held out a hand to the fallen concubine to help him to his feet. Uruha, stunned both at Aoi’s push and the emperor’s response, reached out with some hesitation and was surprised when he was easily hauled into a standing position. 

“Why aren’t you two wearing shoes?” Kai was looking at both their feet with curiosity. 

Aoi held out his wooden sandals, shaking them lightly. 

“These things are impossible to stand in. Have you tried it?”

Kai laughed again, shaking his head as he turned to lead them into his rooms. 

“I haven't.”

“Well then, you should try it! In fact, why don't you try mine?” The doors slid shut behind them as they were led into a vast room with doors open to the veranda and a view of the garden.

The emperor turned his back on the view in favor of looking at his concubines as they stood awkwardly behind him. He gestured to the cushions around them.

“Please, sit.” 

Uruha and Aoi looked at each other and flopped gracelessly to the cushions nearest them on the floor next to each other. 

Aoi held out his shoes in offering. “Well?” 

Kai stared at the platforms held out to him and shook his head.

“I think I'm good.” 

Aoi rolled his eyes and dropped the shoes beside him. 

“If you think you can't handle standing in them then you should have some sympathy for us. We are expected to dance in these, you know?” He raised his eyebrows as he gestured between himself and Uruha, who nodded solemnly beside him. 

“You girls dance? I’d like to see that.” 

Kai looked at them expectantly and Uruha turned exasperated eyes on Aoi as if to say ‘you just had to open your big mouth, didn't you?’

The emperor was still waiting patiently for them to rise and Uruha could feel the pressure of his gaze too keenly to ignore for long. He rose to his feet and Aoi followed reluctantly, shoulders pulling inward as if to shield himself from the criticism he was about to receive. 

“You don't have to wear the shoes,” Kai offered, leaning back on his hands to watch.

Aoi shuffled closer to Uruha, who looked down at Kai, deciding he needed to warn the emperor not to have high expectations. 

“Emperor sama,” he began quietly and was cut off as Kai raised a hand.

“Just Kai in here, please.” 

Uruha nodded, taking a deep breath and starting again. “Kai, just so you know, we are not very good at this. Please don't get your hopes too high.”

Kai laughed. “Have some confidence!”

Uruha looked doubtfully back at Aoi, who shrugged. They pushed their shoes to the side of the room along with the cushions and took up their positions in the center of the hall. Uruha counted down and the two began to move. The emperor had seen the simple dance performed before, but never quite like this. The stiffness of their bodies, especially the blond’s, made it very evident that the two had about as much skill in this area as they’d warned Kai they would. 

The emperor couldn't help but laugh at them as they hopped around, spinning not so gently on flat feet, backs bending in ways that looked highly painful. It wasn't long before Aoi couldn't take it anymore and burst.

“You laugh, but I bet you couldn't do it either! Look at this angle!” He grabbed Uruha’s arm and gestured to the curved angle of his body.

Kai laughed more and, just then, Uruha lost his balance, crashing backwards and landing in a tangled heap with Aoi as the brunet fell too. The two began bickering as they extricated themselves from each other and got back into their places only for a similar debacle to follow. By the time five minutes had passed Kai had laughed so hard he had tears forming in the corners of his eyes. That's when the two concubines moved in, each grabbing one of his arms amid protests and pseudo struggles to escape, pulling him up and into their routine.

All three of them were a laughing, joking mess by the time two hours of Aoi and Uruha teaching the emperor how to dance had passed and by that time they were all lying on the floor together when dinner was called. The emperor looked momentarily torn before sending them off for the night.

Hardly three days later, the emperor called them in again. This time they were allowed ample time to prepare, but, as a result of being assigned so many chores, were still not brought in to be prepared until the last minute, once again sparing them the planning of ways to evade detection. 

The two did look quite a bit more presentable than the last two times, though, as the matrons had taken the extra time to make their hair and faces look perfect and have their kimono lay neatly. The matrons had clearly begun to take this, sort of, courtship more seriously. They were led not to the emperor's chambers this time, but to the palace’s grand entrance. A carriage awaited them and they stepped in, shuffling as gracefully as they could manage inside and collapsing into the unoccupied side. The emperor was opposite them, looking pleased to see them as the horses kicked off and drove them towards their destination. 

After the two concubines arranged themselves, they bowed respectfully to the emperor. 

“Kai,” Aoi began, eyes alight with excitement, “where are we going?”

Kai grinned at him, noting Uruha’s muted curiosity as well. “We’re going to see what that dance we worked on the other day was supposed to look like.”

Aoi looked taken aback and sulky for a moment and Uruha spoke up. “A theater?”

“Something like that.” 

They arrived at their destination in short order and were escorted and seated while surrounded by the emperor’s battalion of guards, Uruha and Aoi on either side of Kai.

The show began with several short readings of haiku. The concubines, being unfamiliar with this type of thing, pestered Kai with questions. 

“What is this crap?” Aoi made no bones about sharing what he thought, and it was loud enough for Uruha to hear as well. 

Kai seemed to choke on his own spit as he held back a laugh and Uruha looked at Aoi with an expression that said he’d spoken his own thoughts out loud. 

At that moment, a beautifully dressed woman entered the stage and presented a simple haiku. 

“The bee flies quickly  
It turns around and stings me  
Then falls to the ground.”

Aoi looked more confused by the syllable and quickly became irritated. 

“What is this even about?” He hissed in Kai’s direction as the woman moved off and several men with spears fell to the stage. “Why did all those people just fall down? Don't they know that's dangerous?”

Kai appeared to choke on his spit again and even Uruha rolled his eyes this time. Aoi leaned forward and glared across the emperor towards the blond. “As if you know!”

Uruha raised a contemptuous brow, crossed his arms, and sat back. “I know more than you, obviously.”

Aoi moved as if to rise for a second before he glanced at Kai and seemed to remember where they were, settling back down, fuming silently. Uruha took that as a win and turned his attention back to the show. A moment later the emperor was leaning towards him, his breath fanning over his ear as he whispered, “from Aoi,” and jabbed him with his fingertips into the soft side of his torso, causing him to gasp and cringe to the side in surprise. 

Uruha turned widened eyes to the emperor, whose eyes were sparkling in amusement and then looked past him, to Aoi, who was looking at Uruha over the emperor’s shoulder, shit-eating grin firmly in place. He turned his gaze back to the emperor, mouth opening as if to say something and closing just as quickly as his propriety lessons forced his silence. This was the emperor, after all, so he couldn't just poke him back...could he? 

The blond narrowed his eyes as Aoi grabbed Kai’s arm and patted it, drawing his attention back to him as the two laughed at Uruha. The blond turned his own attention back towards the front as the two began to settle, waiting for the right moment to strike. When the other two had returned their focus to the stage he took his moment, hand shooting out to grab Kai’s side, squeezing it as the emperor nearly yelped in surprise, and putting the offending limb safely back in his lap within seconds. The blond gave a small smile, feeling Kai’s surprised gaze on him as he pretended to watch the show. He leaned slightly closer to the emperor, face still forward, and whispered, “For Aoi, of course,” looking slyly out the corner of his eye to the emperor.

To his relief, the emperor’s shocked expression morphed into a laughing one and he passed Uruha’s strike on to Aoi. The three of them carried on in that manor the rest of the show, each only realizing that they had no idea what had happened the entire way through it when the lights in the room suddenly grew brighter and the various performers stood to bow. The three assumed an aura of propriety until they’d once again reached the carriage, where they each broke into talk about what little of the show they had seen. Aoi begged the emperor to, “please, never make them do something that stupid again,” causing Uruha to tease him about not being able to sit still for so much as half of it anyway, which started a whole new round of arguments. Kai even chose sides when one had a relevant point and, in the end, they were all laughing at each other. 

By the time they returned to the castle, Kai bidding them a good evening as he parted for his dinner, the two were flushed and happy. This wasn't the last time the emperor deigned to invite them to his side. Not too long after the show, he attempted to take them on a calm stroll through the gardens. It hadn't lasted ten minutes before the two were bored stiff and a calm walk through the gardens became a game of tag that ended in grass stained kimono and laughter. 

That evening, the two were presented with brand new silk kimono, the heavy material stunningly embroidered. A gift, they were told, from the emperor. A note attached read ‘to replace what was dirtied in our time together,’ and it had all the girls twittering and peppering them with teasing snubs about how they had destroyed their clothes while spreading their legs for the emperor. These comments were summarily ignored as the boys stared at the kimono in awe of the visual representation of how much worth they held to the emperor.

It had been a good day. So far, they’d had three good days with Kai and they were starting to get a real feel for his character. Strangely enough, Kai didn't seem so stuffy and regal as they had grown to expect, and the two thought they might even become good friends with him. This notion suited the two of them, even if they ended up doing tons of chores on all their free days to make up for the time they were gone, or if the other concubines were particularly cruel in their snide remarks about the boys’ looks or manners. In the end, they were the ones who were repeatedly asked to see the emperor and they all had surprising amounts of fun together. 

The biggest issue they had to contend with came after they had been seen with Kai several times more. A woman they didn't know came to see them, specifically. She came with escorts and was dressed so flawlessly that it was impossible not to notice that she must have been above their station. 

She was introduced to them as the imperial concubine and boy did she act imperial. She looked down her noses at them and asked many pointed questions which culminated in her pointing out all their flaws with a false politeness that grated on Aoi’s nerves to the point that Uruha had to physically hold him down from jumping up, a hand on his thigh preventing his knees from unfolding from their seated position, a few times during their meeting.

She made many threats, all veiled in polite remarks and then left them feeling hollow and worthless until the matron that had originally taken them into the concubine house made an appearance. She explained to them that this woman they had seen was the one set to marry Kai, the future empress, and that she must have felt very threatened to come see them personally. She looked gleeful as she explained, her plan was working! But, Uruha and Aoi could only see that they'd inadvertently made another enemy. 

This didn't stop these dates with the emperor from occurring. In fact, Kai called upon them with increasing frequency, first, a few times a week then the calls became a near daily ritual. The two were relieved to see that there was no backlash from the empress to be, but kept their guard up when not in Kai’s presence, no less. 

Their overall quality of life improved dramatically as they spent more and more time with the emperor, leaving less time for chores and being around people that disliked them. 

On a particular occasion, the boys were called to get ready to see the emperor. They would be having a meal together. The two quickly washed up and got ready. What the two didn’t expect was the surprise that awaited them when they arrived.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooooh! A date with the emperor! Or is it..... ?


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> An unwelcome meeting and suspicions arise. 😮

“I can’t wait!!” Aoi was beyond ecstatic and practically salivating at the thought of the feast they were about to have. 

“Relax, Aoi. We can’t just walk in there and stuff our faces. Don’t forget, proper etiquette.” Uruha reminded him warningly.

“But, I’m hungry all the time!” The brunet complained. “The portions they allow us aren’t nearly enough for a growing boy.” 

“Well then, it’s a good thing you’re a girl,” Uruha commented with a wry smile. 

By the time the two were walking towards the designated location, Aoi’s stomach was growling loudly. 

“It can’t be helped!” He defended himself when Uruha threw a stern look in his direction before looking away, rolling his eyes when Aoi gave his explanation. Their attention was pulled away by the guards opening the doors for them. They toed off their shoes and lay them neatly at the door before walking inside. 

Small tables had been set up in the center of the room. It wasn’t quite the feast they had hoped for, but it certainly was more food than they were normally allowed. Uruha looked around, noting that there was no sign of the emperor. Maybe he was running late?

A moment later, though, the door slid open again and his blood froze in his veins when he beheld who was on the other side. Aoi stood behind him and the blond didn’t miss the sharp intake of breath from the other as he realized who had followed them in. Luckily, the man was busy arranging his shoes next to theirs and hadn’t noticed their startled expressions.

Uruha reached behind himself, placing a hand on Aoi to still him, never taking his eyes off the man now straightening his spine. Although aged, his face was undoubtedly that of the man they’d seen all those years ago. A face the two had never forgotten due to their continued occasional nightmares of when that man had ordered the swing of the sword that beheaded the stranger in the woods that day, the day that their lives changed forever.

“I’m sorry to have kept you waiting, ladies. I hope you’re hungry. Please, sit.”

The two hesitated, standing as if rooted to their spots, not sure of what to make of the situation. If he knew who they were, was he here to dispose of them? Was the food poisoned? What if he didn’t know? Would they give themselves away?

“It would be rude to begin without his majesty.” Uruha gave a short, stiff, bow, Aoi following suit, and finally spoke up. The man looked up at the blond and approached him. 

“I see why the emperor favors you. So proper when it comes to him.” He reached out to touch his face and Uruha pulled back. Still, the man proceeded and captured his chin while looking directly at him. “So this is what the Emperor likes. Unrefined and freakishly tall country bumpkins.” Uruha pulled his face out of the man’s grasp. The man grinned wolfishly and moved to Aoi, holding his chin, despite the brunet’s flinch, as well. “My, my, my. Look at those lips. I’d love to know what those lips could do. The emperor must really enjoy having those wrapped around his—” 

“I don’t think the emperor would approve of you speaking to us this way.” Uruha pulled the man’s attention back to himself, with that, and he looked down at his hands folded in front of him as the man turned away from Aoi to approach him.

The man’s lip curled in a sneer. “Do you really think the emperor cares about you? Just because he gifted you expensive kimono doesn’t mean anything. You’re both just playthings to him. He’ll soon grow tired of you, as he always does with you concubines, and he’ll move on to someone much more qualified. You do realize that he is already promised to someone?” He walked around the two, examining them from head to toe. His voice was sinister and his gaze upon them was a mixture of disdainful and lustful. “I, however, have something to offer you two.” He walked behind the center table and sat down, waiting for the two concubines to do the same. 

“I can give you status.” He went on when the two didn’t make a move to follow suit. “The emperor will simply throw you away when he’s done with you. I, on the other hand, will put you in a nice place, give you a worthy name, and more than you could ever have here. I am Kodachi, the advisor to the emperor, after all. I am well connected. You could say that it is I who matters more to this governing body than even the emperor himself.”

Aoi wondered to himself, as he observed the seated advisor, was this an attack specifically directed at them, or was it something he did to other concubines? And, if so, how far had he gotten with them?

Kodachi stood and walked over to them again after a moment of silence on their part.

“All you have to do is stop pursuing the emperor. He’s got enough to deal with; he doesn't need to be distracted by the two of you. And if you’re lonely, you could always come wrap those long legs around me, instead.” He tried to pull Uruha’s dress up to cop a feel, but the blond quickly stopped him from pulling it up more than a few centimeters.

“That’s enough!” Aoi inserted himself between Kodachi and the blond, knocking his hand away with his thigh and giving the man a light push, enough to make him stumble back, effectively allowing Uruha to escape. “If the emperor no longer wishes to have our attention, he can tell us himself!” He turned sharply and grabbed Uruha’s arm, marching towards the door.

“I haven’t dismissed you, yet! Where do you think you are going?” The man threatened but made no move to stop them, assuming his authority would be enough.

“If the emperor is discontent with our behaviour today, he can feel free to dismiss us.” Aoi opened the door violently and grabbed both pairs of shoes, not bothering to put them on as he began leading them down the hall.

“Guards! Stop those two whores!” The guards quickly rushed to catch up to them and stood in their way, preventing them from moving forward, until Kodachi caught up. Aoi turned around to face their new enemy with determination evident in his steely eyes.

“If you don’t let us go, the emperor will hear about this.”

“What makes you so sure that the emperor will ever call on you again?” The advisor replied, taking slow, deliberate, steps towards them.

The man was right. There was no guarantee that the two would ever see Kai again, but Aoi couldn’t allow this disgusting man to put his filthy hands on his best friend again or he would certainly commit a crime. At that moment, as if on cue, Yamada san turned a corner and paused, eyes widening as she quickly rushed to the scene. Kodachi accused the boys of being impolite and Yamada san apologized on their behalf, bowing several times as she assured the man that the two would be punished for their behaviour. The boys had never been so pleased to be in trouble. 

Yamada san scolded them all the way back to their quarters, but neither was truly listening as they walked silently behind her.

“Where was the emperor, anyway?” She snapped over her shoulder at them, not waiting for a reply, as she continued on her tirade. “It doesn’t matter! You were very lucky he wasn’t there to catch you girls being hooligans, again, I presume…!” 

Uruha stole a few glances in Aoi’s direction and watched as he marched on. That look of determination he’d seen in him earlier still lingering as he looked only forward, like a man ready to face his sentence; he was not one bit sorry for what he’d just done and Uruha had never felt more strongly toward the burnet than he did in that moment.

The boys were sure that they’d have a moment to speak with Kai about what had happened, but after that incident they were called on only a few times and Kai only saw them in the presence of other company. Their meetings with Kai had become much more formal and polite. The boys initially assumed that was due to the company they would have to entertain, but something about the curious looks they caught Kai casting them said otherwise. When the frequency of even these calls decreased, the two wondered if the emperor hadn’t heard a story from his advisor. There wasn’t anything they could do about it, though, and if Kai chose to believe whatever lie that man told about them, then it was no skin off their back if he decided not to see them, anyway.

One day, out of the blue, another of the concubines was called to by the emperor. The two shrugged it off, figuring that Kai was probably actually hard up, considering their complete lack of sexual encounters with him, and needed to get laid. Their theory appeared confirmed when the girl returned to the quarters mere hours later, looking all aglow. Then the call came for another concubine the next day, and then another the day after that. 

The other girls assumed he’d abandoned them, as well, and made many a cackling remark about how they’d spread their legs and were now only as good as the rags they scrubbed the floors with, dirty and used. Comments like, “Must’ve been a lousy lay,” were followed by derisive laughter and baleful looks thrown at the boys, who were back to cleaning the bath house and completing other degrading chores.

They were used to this sort of behavior from the other concubines and attempted to ignore them, but couldn't help feeling like maybe they should be more bothered by Kai’s apparent dumping of them. The girls were wrong about the possible reasons for the emperor’s disinterest, though, and being constantly called dirty was a new and rather hurtful insult. It went right along the lines of what that nasty advisor would seem to say about them becoming trash and that didn’t sit well with either of them. 

Even worse, as the emperor called on the boys less and less, the attention of the advisor seemed to stay firmly focused on them. The man continued to request their company, and the boys were forced to oblige due to his position and influence. The two could practically see the wheels turning in Yamada san’s head as she held frequent discussions with Kodachi while stealing the occasional glance at the boys. 

On more than one occasion, they sat with the advisor under the pretense of having a meal. It was always the worst situation since they were called in separately after the disaster that was the first time. The separation didn’t stop Kodachi’s pursuing of either of them. In fact, it had the opposite effect of allowing him to pursue them more freely than before. It was absolute torture for the two. Not knowing what the other was going through each time they were called in but becoming more and more concerned as he deigned to lay his salacious fingers on them more and more often. He made them feel naked with his lascivious stares and lewd comments.

One interesting thing that they noticed was that they weren’t the only ones thrown into this sort of arrangement. At least a handful of the other girls had been seen hanging around him and lavishing him with their attention. Sometimes they’d return from their meetings with silly grins plastered on their faces. He was definitely suspicious and the two would rather stay away from him.

Nevertheless, Uruha and Aoi continued to play their part and tried to be as distantly polite as possible towards him. Their status ranked so far below his that they had no choice but to continue as directed.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“As perfect as your name demands, Sakura san,” Kai complimented, the kind smile on his face not quite reaching his eyes as he donned a silk robe and returned to his bed.

The concubine in his bed, Sakura, scooted closer, resting her head on his still bare thigh tentatively. 

“You’re even more than the rumors say, Emperor sama,” She glanced coquettishly towards his now covered groin. She looked up at him again. “I bet those other girls didn’t handle it right, did they, Emperor sama?”

Kai’s brow creased lightly, a small frown on his face. “Which girls?”

“Oh, you know!” She propped herself up on her elbow so she could peer at him from under her long lashes. When he just looked at her with polite curiosity, brow still furrowed slightly, she explained further. 

“The girls you had been calling for a few weeks. You know, the ugly ones.” She rolled her eyes and then seemed to realize her mistake, squeaking as she sat up and covered her mouth for a moment before she began to stutter an explanation.

“That isn’t to say anything about you, Emperor sama, of course not! I would never presume to-” she cut herself off as she saw Kai raise a brow, and sank into a bow, flattening her upper half to the bed. “Please forgive me, Emperor sama.’

A moment later there was a shift in the sheets as Kai stood. “You are not the only one to say that.” 

Sakura hesitantly looked up at the Emperor’s back as he paced across the room.

“Please tell me,” he continued, “what do you think of those two?”

She ducked her head as he looked back at her.

“Raise your head and tell me,” he prompted gently.

She raised her head slightly but kept her eyes averted as she began. “Well, they’re dirty peasants. Not at all worthy of someone of your status! Most often, they make bumbling fools of themselves and embarrass all of us with their behavior! It’s most unbecoming.” She glanced up at Kai again. “We were all ever so pleased when you stopped calling on them.”

He smiled gently down at the girl. “Thank you, Sakura san, that will be all for today.”

She looked surprised for a moment, but then seemed to remember herself and quickly began getting dressed. The emperor assisted when necessary, not willing to allow any woman to suffer the humiliation of being half clothed while exiting his chambers.

She bowed before she left, flouncing off to the concubine’s quarters where, he was sure the two girls he hadn’t seen in weeks were very likely scrubbing something as was far below their station at this very moment. 

He’d had his suspicions, after seeing them in their very first meeting, that there might be something more to the girls than they were letting on. He wasn’t blind and the girls’ physique was actually, though quite attractive to him, quite masculine. His suspicions seemed confirmed after Kodachi came to ask after them. The man had said they were regular country bumpkins and even he indicated that the two were far below his notice. “Quite ugly,” he’d said. Despite disagreeing with that assessment, Kai had taken the man’s advice into consideration and stopped calling on the two. He needed to find out more, anyway.

In his quest for answers he had begun by calling other concubines. They had all been of the same mind. The girls were an ugly mess and they themselves would be a far better match for the emperor’s interests. He got the feeling that the girls were given quite a bit of grief by the other concubines. Almost all of them had rude remarks about the size of their feet, or how they would always seem to be starving, or were just much too rough and tumble, very brutish and not at all feminine. 

Next, he had spoken to the matrons of the concubine house. Many of them felt the girls weren’t up to their full potential and had given up on making them so. They described it as an absolute miracle that the emperor had ever noticed such lowly creatures and had tried to pawn any number of other girls off on him. There was only one matron, Ito san, who’d had anything good to say about the two and she simply said “Oh, I suspected they might be more to your taste when I invited them into their role,” with a knowing smile. She would say no more, so Kai had dismissed her. 

He was at a loss. He wasn’t sure how to move forward with his investigation. Only one idea presented itself and, if he was honest, he rather missed the girls. Their carefree nature, bright smiles, and uncouth behavior was something he was missing in the presence of all the other concubines he’d been letting into his rooms of late. He deserved a break.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
When the call came for the boys they were so surprised they could only look at each other and blink, dumbfounded. 

There they were, scrubbing out the bathhouse yet again (Uruha blamed Aoi, and Aoi insisted that the whole mess was obviously Uruha’s fault for putting the idea to drop that pellet into Sakura’s tea when she wasn’t looking, into his head after she sneered condescendingly at them when she came back from the emperor’s rooms) when a matron bustled in, looking downright confused as she announced that they needed to abandon their task so they could quickly prepare as the emperor had called for them again. 

Aoi and Uruha exchanged surprised looks over the edge of a tub and they only snapped out of it when Yamada san clapped her hands and griped at them to hurry up.

The two hurried to get ready and walked quickly towards Kai’s rooms when they were sent off, excited despite themselves. As much as they hadn’t expected the call to ever come again and had resigned themselves to that, they had been sad to let the budding friendship the three had been developing crumble. 

They waited patiently outside his doors until they were allowed in, both bowing formally to the emperor until the doors closed behind them. Once alone with the emperor, the two boys weren’t sure how to break the silence. Where they would have normally behaved somewhat less than formally with Kai, they didn’t know what terms they were on now given the break in frequent calls. 

Their meeting wasn’t quite what the two had grown to expect it to be. If they were honest, the two had missed Kai, but weren’t sure if he’d ever call on them again. Either way, Aoi was definitely excited to be called again and was looking forward to being able to be a version of himself that was more genuine to his own feelings than he was typically allowed to be, once again. But the atmosphere was different this time. Something was definitely off. 

Kai invited them to sit with him and a small variety of food was brought out before them. Under normal circumstances, Aoi or both, might’ve jumped at the opportunity to enjoy some much needed food, but the two hesitated and ate slowly, maintaining some sense of decency in the atmosphere of regality.

Their interactions felt strangely shallow. Was this what other’s behaved like whenever in the Emperor’s presence? 

Even Kai was disappointed. He had missed the duo. He’d missed the way they acted, the way they managed to blur the boundaries between them. He didn’t feel like he had to be anything but himself whenever he was around them, he didn’t need to put on airs or pretend to be unreachable due to his status. He had gotten a glimpse of what it was like to be carefree, like them. But this, this wasn’t their usual selves. He knew that he was likely to blame for that as he did temporarily cut them off and was now internally doubting their authenticity. Still, this interaction felt less authentic than any other they’d previously shared. 

After a few moments Kai broke the silence with a sigh. Uruha looked up from the barely touched bowl before him.

“Something wrong?” 

Kai’s eyes slid to the blond as he answered. “Not...wrong per say…”

Uruha furrowed his brow. “Anything we can help with?” He tilted his head curiously. 

Aoi was now looking at Kai as well. “You can tell us,” he supplied, “we can keep a secret,” he added with a roguish wink. 

Kai smiled sadly for a moment and silence pervaded the room again. He spoke just as the silence became too long and Uruha opened his mouth to tell him to ‘forget it’ and try to distract the preoccupied emperor.

“It’s just...I have this friend but I’m not sure I really know everything about him,” he paused, noting Aoi and Uruha’s rapt attention. “I really want to trust him, and everything I already know says I can, but there’s just one last thing I can’t figure out a way to find out. I don’t want to be rude and make assumptions by asking him, though.”

Aoi shifted where he sat beside Kai, straightening up so he could face the emperor directly, noting the ruler’s concerned expression. He raised his eyebrows and asked, “Are you serious right now?”

Kai looked taken aback. “Perfectly serious.” He tilted his head in question. 

Aoi shook his head, grinning. “You’re unbelievable, you know.” 

When Kai just continued to gaze at him patiently, Aoi continued, “You’re the emperor. Anything you want to know, you can know. There’s nothing barred to you, nowhere you can’t go, nothing you can’t do to get your answer.” Aoi smiled at Kai, beaming with pride at having discovered the obvious solution. Kai just looked back at him, amazed. It really was that simple wasn’t it? These two really were wonderful. He smiled and continued his meal as the tension seemed to suddenly melt away. 

“I am, aren’t I?” He chuckled softly. “Well then, as Emperor, I say we eat all of this and call for more until we can no longer breathe!”

Aoi’s eyes lit up and, in his haste to get food into his mouth, he accidentally flung a potato at Uruha. The blond raised a threat to fling something back, but was quickly deterred by Aoi who insisted they not waste such delicacies on petty arguments as he encircled the plates protectively with his arms. 

After having filled their bellies to their heart’s content the three played a game that ended as Aoi began to snore softly, leaning on Uruha’s shoulder. 

The emperor saw them off and the two of them made their way back to their own quarters, both so full and satisfied that they drifted off to sleep rather quickly, bodies close together to ward off the night’s chill. 

The next day, the girls all had snide comments for them, but both of them let the comments roll off them with particular ease and even managed to stay out of trouble that day, just attending to their regular chores until night fell so they could complete their regular bathing routine, Uruha watching the door first, followed by Aoi. 

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Murmurs followed the emperor as he walked through the halls to the concubine’s quarters accompanied by nobody. He entered the antechamber and Yamada san greeted him graciously, though dishonestly, and asked what he needed. 

“Where are Uruha and Aoi?” He asked without preamble, impatient.

“Why, they’re in the bath, sire. They will be out shortly if you want to wait…” She trailed off, bewildered, as Kai turned and left without a glance back. 

The emperor swept down the connecting passageway and into the bathing area, not stopping when he spotted Aoi leaning casually against the doorframe that led to the baths behind him. 

The brunet’s eyes widened comically and his mouth fell open for a brief moment before he stuttered, “K-K-Kai! What are you doing here?” He attempted to block the doorway with his body, his arm going out to the other frame just as Kai burst through, brushing past the brunet without a second look. He was a man on a mission. 

Deer in headlights was the only way to describe a nude Uruha as Kai swept unannounced into the bathroom. Uruha wasn’t even facing the wall so everything was on display to the emperor’s prying eyes. The blond cast a surprised and frightened look at Kai, who nodded before turning and leaving without a word, brushing past Aoi who had followed him into the room right behind. 

“Holy shit.” Uruha cursed, dropping the sponge he had been holding just as Aoi ran forward.

“I couldn’t stop him! He just came right in!”

“We need to catch him!” Uruha snatched up his clothes and threw them on hastily as he could manage. He shoved his still wet feet into his slippers and padded quickly out of the room and into the adjoining one. Aoi followed as they nearly sprinted the length of the room to the door and burst through, only to stop dead when they spotted Kai sitting on a bench there, seemingly awaiting their arrival. 

He looked over at them and gave a small grin. “Come on over here, boys.” He spoke quietly and nodded his head in a directing manner, hands still passively folded on his lap.

Aoi and Uruha glanced at each other nervously before they walked over and knelt at Kai’s feet. 

“You lied to me.”

The words were quiet and the tone was neutral but they still made the two boys cheeks burn in shame. Aoi quickly shook his head. 

“No?” Kai quirked a brow.

“No, I mean…”Aoi looked frustrated, fists clenched in his lap, before he relented, his shoulders slumping as he looked away, “Yes.”

The emperor nodded. “I assume you have your reasons,” Uruha looked up with a defiant expression, “and I’ll let you keep them to yourselves.” The blond’s face relaxed into grateful surprise. “It seems you haven’t touched any of my other concubines.” The two shook their heads vehemently in agreement. “And, though you’re male, I’m not exactly opposed to that.” Aoi and Uruha looked at each other, panic tempered by gratitude and surprise at their unbelievable luck. “I won’t share your secret,” the emperor stood up, gesturing that they should do the same.

Once they stood facing each other, Kai gently grabbed a lock of Uruha’s dripping wet hair between two fingers. “Looks like you really rushed out here.” The two nodded, still too confounded to speak. “You should go finish up. I’ll call on you tomorrow.”

Without further ado, Kai turned and left the room. It took a few moments for Aoi and Uruha to react, walking back to the bathhouse so Uruha could complete his hygiene routine. They didn’t say a word, even when they got to bed. Instead, Uruha grabbed Aoi’s hand, squeezing in an assuring manner. They exchanged looks that spoke of relief but also trepidation. What if Kai didn’t keep his word? How much longer did they really have? Could they really trust the emperor? For so long it had only been the two of them, did they really feel comfortable letting a third in on their secret? Did they really have any other options, at this point? 

That evening passed painfully slowly, the two only getting snatches of sleep as the worry consumed them. The dark circles under their eyes in the morning did not go without scathing comments which became sulky silence when the call from the emperor truly did come.

The boys readied themselves nervously and walked to the emperor’s quarters, waiting on tenterhooks to be allowed in and feeling strongly like vomiting when they were finally given entrance. 

They were led into the Emperor’s bed chamber this time where a sizeable bed sat atop a platform. Aoi and Uruha looked at each other as it suddenly dawned on them that whereas previously Kai hadn’t expressed either interest or disinterest in the sexual nature of their relationship, last night he had made it very clear that he was attracted to them as males. Were they about to have their asses reamed by the rumored giant dick of the emperor? They hadn’t truly considered it, but were now frightened at the prospect. 

They heard a laugh from a desk in one corner of the room. 

“No need to look so frightened.”

The boys’ attention snapped to the emperor, who was sitting at a desk in the corner behind a stack of papers. 

“I have work to do today. Besides,” he looked over his shoulder at them, “you two look exhausted.” He nodded as he looked back to his paper, dipping his brush into ink, “I thought you might be and I thought maybe you’d sleep a bit better on something more comfortable than the futons you have, hm?”

Uruha and Aoi looked at each other, and whether it was old friendship stirring or exhaustion taking over his body, Aoi didn’t know. All he knew was that he couldn’t take the tension anymore and this offer was so generous of the emperor that it nearly made him tear up. He walked quickly across the room and wrapped his arms around Kai’s shoulders in a tight hug. 

“Thank you!” Kai blinked in surprise and patted Aoi’s arm gently, Uruha laughing as the tension in the air dropped several notches. He was tired bone deep after being up all night worrying about their future, or their potential lack thereof. He followed Aoi’s cues, going over to hug the emperor from the other side. 

“Yes, thank you,” he spoke in a low, relieved tone, voice ragged with gratitude.

Aoi didn’t linger one more second, running up to the bed and collapsing into it with a groan of satisfaction. 

He let his head drop to the bed and let out a drawn out moan. “This is heavenly,” he declared. “I’d let you fuck me senseless for an hour of sleep on this thing.”

Seeming to suddenly realize what he’d said, he sat up partially, hand held out imploringly toward the emperor. “Not that - I mean - that’s not-” he seemed to be at a loss for words, his face very red, and looked very grateful when Kai laughed in return.

“It is comfortable, isn’t it?” Kai came over next, laying down on the opposite side of the bed, head in the center near Aoi’s, legs hanging off the edge. He lifted his head and looked at Uruha, dropping it back to the bed and waved a lazy hand in the blond’s direction, indicating he should join them. 

The blond walked over and sat gently on the edge of the bed, unable to stop the groan as he laid down fully. 

“This is actually so comfortable.”

The three of them lay there in silence for a moment, Kai letting the concubines take in the luxury that was his bed. 

“Alright,” Kai sat up and walked off. “I have work to do. Go to sleep already!” 

“This is just so comfortable!” Aoi moaned into a pillow and it wasn’t more than five minutes before both were fast asleep in the Emperor’s bed as he carried on working quietly in his corner. 

Hours went by as Kai handled his duties while the two slept soundly. The emperor rubbed his face, suddenly exhausted, as he looked over to his bed. He wouldn’t mind joining the two for a quick nap. It didn’t seem like such a bad idea. 

He walked over and stood over the bed, but suddenly couldn’t bring himself to disturb their slumber. Instead, he watched in admiration at the two who lay facing each other with just enough space in between that, if he so desired, he could probably squeeze into. Still, it didn’t feel right. Instead he just stood there for a moment observing them. 

He could see how they had managed to fool everyone thus far. Their soft features appeared almost feminine to anyone who didn’t know better. Even as they slept, they played their roles; they kept their chins down and limbs tucked, their long hair splayed out around them. Midnight black versus nearly blond golden brown, like yin and yang, both made to complement the other. 

How long had they lived this way? Whatever their reasons were for hiding, they must’ve been valid ones. He could see from their previous interactions that they were never meant to fit into this court life. The way they were with each other spoke of trust and an unbreakable bond.

Kai felt a sudden hint of jealousy, or, perhaps, sadness. There they were, his concubines. They existed with no other purpose than to please him, to gain his attention. But, here these two did not fit that bill. They had each other, perhaps even a life outside the castle walls that they would much rather pursue. 

Their motives weren’t driven by greed, or need for power or wealth. At least, it didn’t seem that way, and something inside of Kai told him that this was pure. Their callowness was genuine. He walked back to where he’d left some scrolls he was reading through and picked one up before heading back to the bed and sitting on the edge, back against the headboard, leaving plenty of space for the men sleeping on his bed should they move in their slumber. He wanted to be a part of whatever it was the two had, but he didn’t want to force his way in. Instead, he opted for reading while sitting near them. He’d wait for them to wake up. He’d wait for the day that the two willingly allowed him into their lives.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kai wants in!! But he’s too sweet so he’ll be patient. 🥺


	6. Chapter 6

When Kai awoke it was to two pairs of eyes looking down at him. Wide dark eyes in a face that was far too close for comfort and light eyes that looked on from a more respectful distance looked at him curiously. Kai’s own eyes shot wide open as he sat up quickly, startled by their proximity and unnerved by awakening to such a sight. He wasn’t used to anyone staying in his own bed and he hadn’t meant to fall asleep in the first place. 

“You’re awake!” Aoi followed the emperor as he retreated towards the head of the bed. 

“What are you two doing?” He eyed each of them warily.

“Just waiting for you to wake up,” Aoi chirped and sat back with his legs crossed. 

“We weren’t sure if we were supposed to leave—“ 

“So we waited for you so you could dismiss us.” 

Uruha began to explain but was cut off by Aoi. 

Kai looked around. Everything seemed to be in its place. Did the two really just wait patiently for him? 

“Also, someone came to the door but we didn’t open it since you were sleeping and Uruha didn’t know what to say to them.”

“You didn’t say anything either; don’t put this on me!” 

“It’s alright; it’s probably for the better,” Kai responded quickly, still feeling a bit drowsy. He hadn’t expected to fall asleep so easily, but the relaxed nature of the two boys had a way of making him feel at ease. With the expectations laid upon him as emperor, he often felt suffocated by responsibility and all the tension that went with it. These boys brought a surprisingly nice change of atmosphere and he was reluctant to surrender them but didn’t want to push the boundaries. “If you two are ready to return, you may.”

Aoi’s face fell with disappointment. 

“What’s the matter?” Kai made a move to lift the younger’s chin but retracted at the last second, reminding himself that he’d decided he wouldn’t be so forward without invitation. No matter how inviting his nearly pouting lip looked. 

“I don’t want to go back,” Aoi pouted, slumping over where he sat. 

Kai looked at the brunet in surprise. 

“What do you mean?” Uruha was looking at Aoi as well, waiting for an explanation. 

Aoi’s pout became even more pronounced. “When we go back we’ll have to clean more because it’s still so early,” he explained, glancing towards the window which was allowing bright afternoon sunlight to filter in. 

The emperor looked confused and mildly concerned for a moment. “You’re cleaning things?”

Aoi nodded earnestly and swung his body back, landing on his back on the soft mattress. “Only all the time! Yamada san doesn’t like us and is always finding excuses to punish us with cleaning the bathhouse. But she never says anything to any of the other girls when they say rude things to us! She has it out for us!” He rolled over on his side, facing Kai as he finished his complaint. 

“Aaaah,” the emperor nodded in understanding before he smirked, a devilish light in his eyes. “Well,” he leaned a little bit closer to Aoi, “you two could always stay here in my bed with me.”

Aoi’s eyes widened and his face flushed as he sat up quickly and scrambled to the opposite side of the bed, stepping off as Uruha followed. 

“That’s ok, Emperor sama, we’ll be going now!” 

Kai laughed in response, collapsing back on the bed as Uruha also bowed, following Aoi’s quick footsteps to the door when he suddenly remembered he had something else to tell them and sat up, flinging a hand out in their direction.

“Wait!”

The boys froze and slowly turned back. Kai could see the brick wall that was their defenses rising up. He almost laughed again at what they must have been thinking but opted to get his message out instead. 

“I will be going away for a while. I’ll call on you when I return.”

The duo’s faces flooded with relief, then surprise at the announcement.

“Oh.” Aoi blinked in surprise, looking at his counterpart for a brief moment, before turning back and giving a real bow. “Have a safe trip, then. We’ll see you when you return.” The blond also bowed and said, “take care.”

Kai smiled at them both and waved them away. “Goodnight, Aoi. Goodnight, Uruha.” 

“Goodnight, Kai,” they both responded as they walked at a far more subdued pace out the door. As they walked silence reigned as each of them mulled over the fact that the emperor would be leaving for a while and then drifted to Kai’s sudden forward sexual interest in them. Well, the concubines had previously let them know that the emperor had a taste for men. It wasn’t lost on them that the rumor accompanying that one was the one about Kai’s giant dick tearing up other concubine’s asses in his lust-crazed state. 

They each mulled these things over as they returned to the concubine’s quarters and were given their daily chores, which had piled up while they were gone as if nobody else had been assigned to them. It was the same amount as always shoved into a shorter period of time, leaving the boys exhausted by the time they finished bathing and were about to return to their chambers.

Uruha gently squeezed the water from his long hair with a towel before tossing it over his shoulder and discarding the towel into the bin. He looked back at Aoi who had been sitting on the bench in the antechamber, quietly waiting for him to finish. 

“You ready? Let’s go.”

The brunet hesitated, biting his lip for a moment and Uruha only noticed that Aoi wasn’t following him when he reached the exit. 

He turned to look at Aoi, surprised. “Aoi?”

The brunet didn’t answer so the blond turned back and waved a hand at him. “Anybody in there?” He waved a hand an inch from the other’s face and the brunet pushed the other’s hand away, looking up at Uruha, frowning.

“Uruha…” the brunet began, looking down at his lap and then back up at his blond counterpart, “do you remember all those rumors about the emperor? The ones where he…” Aoi took a deep breath and carried on in a rush, “likes to fuck men and has a giant dick?”

It was a testament to how much the very same thought had been on the blond’s mind in the past few hours that, instead of laughing, he turned and sat down beside the tense brunet, both of them facing the wall and not looking at each other. “Yes.”

Aoi glanced nervously out the corner of his eye at the blond. “Well,” he began, “I was thinking that maybe…” He stopped for a moment, seeming to lose his courage. 

“Maybe…?” Uruha looked at the other man, curiously.

Aoi looked down, picking at a fuzz on his shift. He took a deep breath and continued, “Maybe we should…” he gulped and glanced at the blond again, finishing his thought in a near whisper, “practice?” 

Uruha looked at Aoi, stunned for a moment that he had been the one to suggest it. The blond was silent as he watched Aoi’s cheek suffuse with a soft pink color. Finally, he nodded, facing forward again.

“Yeah, I guess we should. Next time we get some time, I suppose. Probably this week, even, considering the emperor will be gone so we won’t be as busy.” All the concubines would receive something of a break whenever the emperor left, not needing to look their finest or do things specifically so he might notice them. 

Aoi turned a surprised expression on Uruha. He hadn’t expected him to accept so quickly. Maybe he was also a little more curious than he was letting on, too. If nothing else, he was glad that he had Uruha to try this out with. He didn’t think he could handle just going with anyone else. He was sure the other felt the same way.

The two returned to their quarters that evening and they spent their first free day bogged down with the chores that remained to them from the previous day. The second day, however, they had enough time to venture outside. It was late spring and the girls were all encouraged to get some fresh air even as they were warned to stay in the shade for their complexions.

Uruha and Aoi took this opportunity to sneak off, disappearing into the woods once again, this time with a purpose that had less to do with hormones and more to do with pragmatism. They walked quickly into the woods as deep as they deemed necessary, the beauty of the area was lost on them as they felt their nerves increase.

“This seems like a good spot.” Uruha stopped in a very small clearing, far enough off the trail that they could easily hide if they saw someone coming. The blond turned to Aoi who had also stopped and was looking down at his feet, fidgeting uncomfortably. 

“Right. I’ll go first, then.” With that, the blond hiked up his skirt and pulled down his drawers and leaned against the nearest tree, presenting himself to Aoi by pushing his bottom out. He could tell that Aoi was too nervous to be the first one to try it, and, this way, Uruha could tell the brunet it was nothing to fear. The blond had always been the protector and that wasn’t about to change now. 

Aoi stood frozen for a moment before he shuffled forward, pushing his own clothes out of the way as he moved closer. He moved to stand behind Uruha, pushing aside the fabric that had been covering the blond’s pale bottom.

As he looked down at the round globes of Uruha’s exposed ass, he felt the first stirrings of interest. Aoi wasn’t immune to having the blond displayed for him in such a way and it suddenly occurred to him that he probably had to be hard in order to penetrate anything. 

Uruha looked over his shoulder and asked impatiently, “Are you gonna do it?”

Aoi frowned. “Just wait a minute! I’m working on it!”

Uruha huffed and leaned further into the tree, his back curving an extra few centimeters and his bottom rising as he looked over his shoulder at Aoi. 

The brunet may have been nervous but, despite his firm belief that he had no interest in the same sex, couldn’t help but feel attracted to Uruha this way, waiting for him. He stroked himself a couple of times before he was satisfied that he definitely wouldn’t have any issues penetrating the blond. With that he lined himself up, the tip of his dick pressing gently against the blond’s pucker. 

“Ready?” He asked nervously.

Uruha nodded, body tenser than ever, eyes screwed shut. 

“Ok, here I go.” With that, the brunet began to push. It didn’t take him more than ten seconds to realize that the amount of pressure he was putting wasn’t enough. He wasn’t entering at all! He pushed harder, trying a second time. When that didn’t work he backed up and huffed quietly at Uruha.

“Loosen up,” he demanded. “I can’t get in!”

“Just how do you expect me to do that?” Uruha hissed, irritated as he tried to focus on relaxing. A few seconds later Aoi was back behind him, blunt cockhead pressing against his entrance. This time, Aoi pushed with an incredible amount of pressure all at once, and, to both their surprise, it worked.

“Fuck! Take it out!” Uruha exclaimed, as the burning pain hit him, Aoi still pushing determinedly forward. 

The blond reached back a hand, slapping the brunet’s thigh in his urgency, tears pearling at the corners of his eyes. 

“Hurts,” he gasped as Aoi’s member moved in the other direction, the brunet trying to pull out. 

“You’re telling me!” Aoi agreed, finally managing to get what little of his dick had gone in, out. 

When he finally managed, he fell to the ground, cradling his now completely soft and sore penis in both hands. Uruha sank to the ground on his side, moaning in pain and clutching his bottom.

“That was horrible!” Aoi groaned.

Uruha nodded in agreement, eyes still watering with the residual burning he was feeling. 

“Why would anyone want to do that?!”

Now the two had a new dilemma. How does one refuse an emperor? They dressed, Uruha limping a little as they walked.

That night, as they sat in the bath, Uruha taking an extra long time as Aoi guarded the door. They had each been quiet the remainder of the afternoon. Both of them knew there was no way they could truly say “no” if the emperor asked to take their asses. Uruha’s reaction was enough to temper any curiosity Aoi might have previously had. What were they supposed to do?

“Maybe,” Uruha’s low voice made its way out to Aoi at the door, “we did something wrong?”

Aoi was immediately defensive. “Well, what else are we supposed to do?!”

“Well, I don’t know!” Uruha splashed a hand down in the water, frustrated. Aoi was right. What were they supposed to do?

They went back to their room that night in silence, each still stewing over the mess that had been their first attempt. By the time the morning came each had determined that they had done something wrong and were determined to give it another shot. Just...maybe not right away. This was just as well because the next day they were assigned to clean the bathhouse again after, in their distraction, they had walked into a matron who had dropped an expensive vase she had been moving to the other side of the room.

So it was that, even though Uruha’s ass was still throbbing, the two were forced to scrub one of the fancier baths in the castle. Aoi stomped around quite angrily until he slipped on something slick on the floor, barely catching his balance.

He looked around for what he had slipped on when he spotted an open oil container lying on its side on the floor. It was fragrant and used to make their skin softer. 

He began to grumble under his breath as he made his way carefully over to the fallen bottle.

“...who just leaves this open on the floor? Don’t they know it’s dangerously slippery…” Slippery? Wait, what was it that Uruha told him when he first showed him jerking off? If it’s wet it feels better? When it’s slippery it feels better. Maybe...maybe this could be used to make their second attempt a little easier? 

Aoi quickly closed the bottle and slipped it into his pocket, mind still racing as they finished their cleaning for the day. He decided that he would keep it on him in case they got another opportunity to try again. 

The next day, all the girls filed out into the courtyard for a walk. Aoi and Uruha walked behind them and as they all began to split up in different directions, they did the same. It wasn’t often that they were able to spend time outdoors anymore. It was something they enjoyed while they were kids. This felt different from those days.

Aoi leaned over the rail to see the fish in the koi pond below them as they stood in a gazebo in the middle of the pond, but Uruha couldn’t be swayed from only noticing the sight of Aoi looking so beautiful in the early morning light. As the emperor was away, they had been allowed to wear a simpler outfit to go outside. 

Uruha leaned back on the rail, watching Aoi be distracted by the fish like a cat trying to choose his next meal. There was something decidedly cute about him. Unfortunately, his view was now being blocked by Aoi’s long dark hair falling like an onyx cascade as he leaned forward again. The blond reached a hand out to tuck the sheet of hair behind his ear, causing the other to focus on him instead. When was the last time they’d been able to be alone like this, just existing together, no worries, no fears, just each other’s presence? 

The taller man had a sudden urge to kiss Aoi. He looked around to make sure the coast was clear, before leaning in quickly, tilting the other’s chin up to meet his lips in a kiss that didn’t end as quickly as intended. Each leaned into the other, missing the feel of the other’s lips as soon as they parted and diving back in for more.

A few seconds after it began, however, Uruha wrenched away, remembering where they were. He cast a quick look around before grabbing Aoi’s hand and leading them back over the bridge and across the grounds. He was headed straight for the tree line. 

They barely made it into the wooded area before Aoi was pushing Uruha against a tree and was kissing him again, pressing his body against the other. It had been a while since they’d been able to enjoy a moment like this. It only took a moment until Uruha’s hands were traveling below Aoi’s waist, gripping his round ass tightly. Aoi’s own hands reached for any part of the blond that he could touch. Each wore fewer layers than usual and their arousals were much more evident as their bodies came closer together. 

Aoi liked kissing Uruha, he liked it even more when he caught him off guard and was the one to initiate said kissing. But the blond wasn’t going to allow him to have the upper hand so easily. He leaned down and picked up the brunet, causing him to wrap his legs around his waist and then pinned him against the tree instead. Aoi groaned when his back hit the bark but didn’t waste any time latching on to the blond once again, gripping his hair tightly in both hands to keep him in place while he devoured his mouth. 

They continued for a while longer until Uruha began moving rhythmically against Aoi. He was reaching for his impending release, but Aoi wanted more, needed more contact, and somewhere in the midst of his hormone-induced craze and lust muddled mind, he remembered what he was still carrying in his pocket. The brunet pulled back for a second, holding on to blond locks to keep the other from trying to attack his neck with kisses again. 

“Wait.” Aoi tried to search for his pocket as everything was shifted while Uruha still held him in mid-air. “Here.” He presented the small flask to the blond. 

“What am I supposed to do with that?” 

If the brunet wasn’t so damn horny he’d roll his eyes at the question. 

“Put me down. We’re going to try doing it with this.” Uruha lowered Aoi back to his feet. The brunet pushed the container into Uruha’s hands and turned around doing what Uruha had done the last time they had attempted penetration. To say that he was nervous would be an understatement. Aoi was terrified. But he was also horny and anxious, and he trusted Uruha. He wouldn’t just hurt him, this much he knew. He had a lot more self-control than Aoi ever could, so he trusted that he would not go too far without Aoi’s permission. 

Aoi braced himself against the tree with one hand, holding his clothing out of the way with the other. Uruha looked at the item in his hand for a second before determining that this might actually work. Not to mention the sight of Aoi practically serving himself on a silver platter for him to take. Any hesitation he may have had was quickly thrown out. 

The blond reached for the bottom of his own dress and picked it up, securing it out of the way. He opened the bottle and poured the oil and rubbed it onto himself, letting out a groan at the feeling of the slippery substance on his already rock hard cock. He could almost imagine it already, being inside Aoi like this. 

Uruha poured a little bit more of the substance and used it to rim the brunet’s puckered hole. Aoi shifted at the touch for a moment.

“Are you okay?” The blond stilled.

“Just wasn’t expecting that.” 

“You ready?”

Aoi nodded and hung his head with the weight of the anticipation. Uruha stepped closer and ran a hand up the other’s back. He didn’t want to hurt him, but he was also curious at the same time. He lined up and took a deep breath before he tried to push in for the first time. His friend tensed up for a second.

“Hold on.” Aoi breathed in deep and back out as if trying to gather the courage. He remembered the look and the sound of desperation in Uruha’s voice when he had tried this. But he felt it was only fair for him to experience it this time. “Go on.” He relaxed as much as he could despite the situation and Uruha began. It took longer than expected as he pushed in little by little, occasionally pulling out to apply more of the slippery substance to aid him. They were nearly at the end of the flask by the time he was finally fully sheathed inside of Aoi; both breathing heavily. 

“Are you okay?” 

“Yeah, I think so.”

“Is it okay if I move?”

Aoi simply nodded. The blond pulled out a bit, only to slide back inside slowly, causing the brunet to gasp sharply. It was definitely a tight fit, but he wouldn’t say he disliked it. In fact, the warm feeling of Aoi’s insides embracing his dick felt rather good. But he couldn’t allow himself to enjoy it if his friend was in pain. He did it again. And then again until he set a slow pace. He adjusted himself and this time Aoi groaned. Uruha instantly stopped in his tracks. 

“Do that again.” Aoi breathed. He was surprised by his own discovery. Although the feeling was initially uncomfortable and definitely unexpected, he didn’t hate it. In fact, whatever it was that Uruha had hit against inside him felt good. 

“I don’t know what I did,” Uruha confessed but tried to mimic his previous movements. Pushing in and pulling out again a few more times. A minute went by and Aoi was now pushing back, searching for that euphoric feeling himself. He reached back, placing his hand on the blond’s hip, letting him know how fast to go. As Uruha sped up he came to the realization that he wouldn’t last very long and that he was too close to stop. He quickly pulled out and finished off as he buried his face on Aoi’s back. 

“I’m sorry,” he paused for breath, “it felt too good. I couldn’t stop.”

Aoi sighed in mild frustration. He was still rock hard and now he was teased beyond control. Uruha pulled off the brunet, placing a small kiss on his back in apology. 

“Come here.” He pulled Aoi back to a standing position and turned him around to face him. He could see the disappointment written on his face but he smiled back either way.

“Was it really that good?” He asked.

“Really good.” Aoi smiled wider at the response. Somehow, the look on Uruha’s face outweighed his own need at the moment. He wanted to always be someone who brought a smile to the blond’s face. He threw his arms around him and began kissing him again. 

As Aoi’s body was pressed against the blond’s again, Uruha was suddenly reminded that Aoi still hadn’t gotten off. And after the way he’d made Uruha feel, he wanted nothing more than to reward him as best he could. Uruha pulled away and trailed kisses down his neck, making his way down until he was kneeling before the brunet. The blonde picked up Aoi’s dress and pressed it against the other’s chest.

“Hold this,” he urged and put his mouth to work on the brunet’s cock. Aoi’s head thudded against the tree as he threw it back. 

By the time the two rejoined the group, it was noon. Aoi walked back on shaky legs after the mindblowing orgasm Uruha had provided him. As they returned, he contemplated. He’d never thought he would want Uruha inside him so badly. Unfortunately, they’d run out of the makeshift lube they carried with them after just the first try, and attempting it without was not an option, so that particular activity would be put on hold until the two could obtain more.

Unfortunately for the boys, the substance they had so opportunely found in the bathhouse was not easy to come by and they would have to hold off any further experimenting until they could find an alternative. The situation was eating at them from the inside out. Every accidental touch and every glance was reigniting the flame they’d lit that day in the woods. 

Luckily, there was an upcoming event that kept the two from becoming too preoccupied with what they couldn’t have. There was a festival they’d heard about from the matrons the day they returned from the woods. Normally, these things didn’t pertain to them as they were busy doing chores and didn’t get a break for poultry news about festivals, especially since none of the concubines were allowed to attend anyway. 

This year, though, as Aoi and Uruha had risen to prominence within their rank, they were officially invited by the matrons to attend the opening ceremony for the festival. Every year for “Aoi Matsuri” a parade would begin at the palace. Despite the name seeming to connect Aoi to the festival, the man had never been deemed important enough to attend. The two would still not be able to make an appearance at the festival itself, though, due to the impropriety of it all, so while it wasn’t significantly more distracting than their raging hormones, the two were still grateful for anything that helped them despair less about not being able to experience that pleasure anytime they wanted.

So it was with no reluctance that they set about their waking routine the day of the parade, donning their fanciest clothes and quietly allowing the matrons free reign with their long hair, each given a different elaborate design, and face paint. 

Thankfully, the matrons didn’t find it necessary that they don the impossible to walk in platforms and the two were allowed to wear simple wooden clogs to the ceremony. Aside from the distraction the event provided, the two were actually pretty excited to see the parade. They’d heard it was quite beautiful and, due to being stuck in the castle tending to chores day in and day out, they’d never been exposed to much of the glamor of royal life. It would be interesting to see what these types of events had in store for them in the future. 

After they were each sufficiently dolled up, they were led by Ito san to the front steps of the palace. They walked past the empty seat where Kai would be sitting and both wondered for a brief moment why the emperor hadn’t returned in time for such an auspicious event before shrugging it off and going to wait in their place on the bottom step.

It wasn’t long before more people began to file in. Uruha tried to maintain formality, keeping his head down and looking only forward. Aoi, however, had no such compunction. Every time somebody new arrived his head would turn so he could get a glimpse of who it was. Uruha received a sharp elbow in the ribs when Kodachi arrived, settling in the seat next to where Kai was supposed to sit and gazing down at the two of them like a hawk to its prey. Uruha kept his expression carefully neutral as he looked back to the front after seeing who it was. 

He heard a derisive snort from the row directly behind him and felt his spine stiffen. Then, a loud whisper told him exactly who it was behind them.

“What are they doing here? I don’t know why my Emperor would even bat an eye at these two low class nobodies, let alone allow them to join us at any events.”

The blond felt Aoi’s body go rigid next to him. He glanced over to see that the other’s lips were pursed in irritation. At least he was keeping a lid on it.

“In fact, can’t you ask them to leave?”

Uruha wondered who was hearing this diatribe for all of two seconds before the other person responded.

“If only these two could learn their place. Alas, I’ve been trying to beat it into them for years to no avail.”

It was Yamada san.

Ito san, standing beside the boys, was looking angrily but determinedly ahead, pretending to ignore the ones behind her.

Hana, the emperor’s fiance, huffed. “Well then, can’t you ask the Emperor’s step mother, Konoe sama? She would have the power. I can’t stand the sight of them!” Her whisper had started to bleed into a low murmur now, her voice high pitched as she expressed her irritation. 

Aoi clenched his hands together in front of himself tightly, looking strained. Uruha fought the urge to turn and smile pleasantly at the women behind them just so they would know their words were meaningless, knowing it would set the other women off. He wasn’t particularly interested in scrubbing the bathhouse again. Although, if he were to do that he might come across what they’d been trying to find since they’d run off to the woods the other day…

He was snapped out of his momentary reverie as more people surrounding them began whispering, though in very different tones, now looking around freely to see what it was about. 

There was a woman approaching, flanked by two finely dressed attendants. She looked as though she belonged in one of the seats that were arranged beside the emperor’s and yet, here she was, walking down the front steps. 

Aoi and Uruha stared openly as the woman glided regally down the stairs until she stopped at the row above theirs, greeting Hana fondly as the younger bowed her head. Then she spotted the two concubines on the step below.

“What’s this?” She turned falsely surprised eyes on the two boys. They each scrambled to turn and bow properly, following the example of Ito san next to them. 

“Your highness,” she said and the boys echoed her, turning questioning looks on each other out the corner of their eyes. 

“They’re the emperor’s new concubines,” the empress-to-be responded. “I was wondering, your highness, is this the norm? Do concubines typically attend these events? I hadn’t been invited to any before the emperor became my betrothed. Is it not a bit inappropriate?” She shot a nasty glance in the boys’ direction.

The well dressed woman gave a tinkling laugh. “Oh, no, my dear. It’s perfectly acceptable for concubines to attend these events.” 

Aoi’s face twisted into a triumphant smile, his head still bowed as he faced the woman, Uruha meeting his gaze, satisfied. It seemed they had unwittingly gained an ally. 

“It is not, however,” the woman continued, “appropriate for two such concubines to be anything less than perfection at such events.” She looked scathingly towards the boys’ footwear. “You are dismissed,” she turned to Ito san that had accompanied the two boys. “Teach them how to dress properly for these functions lest they become an embarrassment to us all.”

…or not.

Ito san had obviously bitten her tongue while she’d led the two boys away, but she couldn’t hold it in as she walked down the hall back to the concubines quarters.

“...think they can undermine me! Well, we’ll just see about that! And you!” She rounded on the boys. “Don’t leave your room in anything less than the outfit we had you meet the emperor in! That was his step mother for goodness sake! You are supposed to be almost more respectful in Konoe san’s presence than in his. Don’t you realize that she is the one who chooses the emperor’s bride?! How did anyone think those were a good idea?!” She gestured violently towards the wooden clogs the boys were wearing. 

They didn’t answer her, not wanting to further incur her wrath by reminding her that, in fact, she had approved their clothing. They followed her down the hallway silently, each disappointed by not getting to experience the little joy they had been looking forward to and each a little annoyed to have been snubbed for something as ridiculous as their shoes. It was a jarring reminder that Kai was very different from the people surrounding him. 

They arrived back at the concubines’ quarters, following her in the door for all of two steps before she turned back to them abruptly. “Go do laundry! You might as well make yourselves useful! Maybe looking at the soiled laundry will help you remember what you should and shouldn’t be wearing!” 

The boys wanted to argue over the injustice of it all but felt their energy had been drained by dealing with the insults that had been ceaselessly heaped upon them from the time they had stood outside to await the parade. That combined with the loss of the only thing they had been looking forward to was enough to have them turn around numbly to attend to the task handed to them.

They were halfway through scrubbing the pile of laundry, which, it turned out, contained some mucked up practice army uniforms as well, when an idea hit Aoi like a runaway train. 

“Hey!” The brunet picked up the hakama he was working on scrubbing over the washboard, eyes lighting up as he looked at his blond counterpart. 

“What?” Uruha didn’t look up as he continued scrubbing. 

“Let’s sneak out!” 

The blond did stop this time, looking incredulously into the brunet’s eyes.   
“Are you serious?”

“Yeah!” Aoi held out the clothing he was currently cleaning and made a broad gesture with his other hand. “We’re surrounded by unused uniforms! Let’s take some and go! To the festival!”

Uruha rolled his eyes and went back to scrubbing. “Oh yeah, that’ll work.”

“No! LIsten! We can stow a couple of these uniforms away and nobody would be any wiser! Nobody cares what we do! And we need a night away! Kai’s not here, so it’s not like he’s going to call on us! Besides,” the brunet lowered his voice, “maybe we can find more of that stuff in town.”

Uruha looked up, suddenly interested despite himself. “...it’s risky.” He began reluctantly.

“Look,” Aoi pressed on excitedly, “we can leave our girl clothes here and just walk out like regular guys! Nobody will be any wiser and Ito san is too busy moping over getting kicked out of the parade to care what we’re doing! We’ll just change when we finish and leave!”

Uruha still looked uncertain as he continued to scrub the clothes absently. “Ok, but what if someone sees us? I don’t know, Aoi…” The blond looked up to see the brunet in full pout mode.

“We never get to do anything fun. We’re doomed to spend the rest of our days trapped in these halls! Can’t we do something, just this once? Today was such a bad day.” Aoi looked down at his hands holding the sopping clothing.

Uruha groaned in defeat. “Fine! But we aren’t leaving ‘til it’s dark and I wanna wear clean clothes so we are going to have to get some when we get the rest of the laundry.”

Aoi’s face lit up. “Okay, Uruha!” He leaned back down to keep on working, the blond shaking his head and smiling at Aoi’s bright expression, before also concentrating on his task. 

Later that evening saw the two walking calmly into the laundry room with buckets full of dirty water they had been using to scrub the floors on the pretense of dumping it. Aoi had been right, nobody had paid them any mind the whole day as they went about their chores and this didn’t change as they slipped into the laundry room. 

They changed their clothes quickly, undisturbed by anyone and not stopped as they exited the laundry room either. The two looked very different wearing these simple clothes than they did in their elaborate kimono. Their hair lay half loose about their shoulders and their faces had no trace of paint on them. They looked like men, albeit very pretty men. 

Nobody noticed them as they left the castle after padding quietly down the halls and nobody noticed as they crossed the grounds quickly and disappeared into the forest.   
\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Nobody noticed them except a certain emperor who had returned home earlier that day to view the parade at the start of the festival. He had been severely disappointed to note the boys’ absence at the event.

Initially, he had believed that the matrons who put the boys to work hadn’t believed they needed to be at the event. His confusion about what had happened ended, though, about a minute after he’d begun wondering. He had arrived at the event and taken a seat, only having time to notice the boys’ absence before he noticed his step mother walking back up the steps away from his appointed fiance. She was wearing a satisfied kind of smirk and when asked what that was about she’d replied that she’d “just gotten rid of some pesky bugs” and sat down behind him. 

It was with more than mild irritation that Kai realized what had happened and he had become even more annoyed as his fiance was presented to him. She also seemed too satisfied and he concluded that the two had somehow colluded to force his concubines to leave. 

So, not only to spite the two of them but also to greet the two boys, he had decided he would call on them that evening. Luckily, for them (and for Kai), he had seen an odd movement on the edge of the forest while standing out on his veranda, biding his time so that the obscene hour he called the boys at would seem highly inappropriate and everyone would assume he was doing only one thing with them.

When he focused through the falling darkness he was able to easily make out two figures as they walked into the forest. He recognized their gait and stature, even though the two were dressed as men. There could be no mistake. It was Aoi and Uruha sneaking off to the festival, no doubt. 

A wide grin broke over the emperor’s face as he quickly retreated back into his rooms. He took a walk around his palace, the surprised eyes of his guards following him until he disappeared around the corner. He made haste as he hurried to the laundry room himself, everyone he passed bowing their heads and mumbling “Emperor sama.” 

Nobody stopped him and he was soon surrounded by drying clothes. He spotted a dry one and took it up, stripping down to change as quickly as possible. He chuckled to himself when he spied the corner of a neatly folded kimono tucked nearly out of sight. After he dressed, the emperor walked over and tucked the corner in, hiding the two outfits completely from view. 

If he’d had any doubt about the boys being the ones who’d disappeared into the woods it was completely wiped away with this new discovery. 

He left the laundry room and hurried to an exit nearby the road. If he hurried, he could catch the boys as they emerged from the woods.  
\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Stumbling over the roots in the dark on the path through the woods to reach the town on the other side wasn’t necessarily the boys’ brightest idea but they could think of no other way to successfully sneak out and into the village where the festival was beginning. Each of them stumbled over roots and had their clothing grabbed by brambles blocking the path, and Aoi clung to Uruha’s arm, terrified a demon was going to jump out of the wood to kill them. 

All the fear seemed washed away though when the noise and light of the festival began to filter through the trees. Their excitement increased (Uruha’s exasperation at being clung to also fading) as they reached the edge of the forest. 

The two waited for an opportune moment and slipped out into the road, joining the crowd streaming through the streets. 

Everything was well lit and the smell of various cooking festival foods had them taking deep breaths through their noses, their stomachs growling. They stuck close together as they gazed around, wide eyed, at all the signage and colorfully dressed people. As they walked down streets lined with various booths they caught snatches of conversation and many vendors hawking their wares.

“-want this one, Mommy!” A little kid pointed at a brightly colored mask.

“Squid on a stick! Only one copper piece!” A man brandished the food towards the two boys who walked by, Aoi’s eyes following the food even as they moved on, nearly drooling.

“-not hard! Anyone can win! Step right up!” Many children surrounded this booth.

Aoi and Uruha were dazzled by all the lights and the noise. The last time they had seen a festival had been back before they’d gone to the castle. What little they could remember was pleasant, memories of takoyaki shared between them and Tanaka san, who, though gruff, clearly cared. It had been so long that they hadn’t thought about it but neither of them had any money.

It seemed this realization dawned on them at the same time but neither of them said anything, walking around and taking everything in. They were determined to enjoy it no matter that they couldn’t buy anything. 

They had only been in the festival for five minutes when heavy hands fell on each of their shoulders.

“What are you doing here?” A deep voice seemed to growl from behind them as they slowly turned nervous eyes towards the source of the words. Had they been caught?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wahhhhh!! They’ve been caught!


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things progress and become complicated.

When Uruha and Aoi turned they beheld not a giant man in armor threatening to drag them back to the castle in chains for deceiving the emperor, but the emperor himself, looking like he was holding back laughter very hard. 

“You scared us!” Aoi spoke first, spinning around and putting a hand over his heart as if to help calm its rapid beating.

“What are you doing here?” Uruha took a milder approach as Kai laughed loudly, unable to hold it back anymore.

Kai collected himself and stood up straight, folding his arms, amusement still plain on his face. “I could ask you the same thing.”

The two were at a loss for words, stuttering around various explanations while the emperor’s face grew ever more amused. 

“It’s ok, you don’t have to explain.” He held a hand out to brush off their attempts to explain. “I saw you sneak out and decided to follow you.” He shrugged and paused a moment, briefly frowning and looking contemplative.. “Well, it seems creepy when I put it that way,” he frowned. 

This made Aoi laugh but neither of the boys could deny that. If it were anybody but Kai, they would be wondering what kind of trouble they were in for, to say the least. 

Kai clapped his hands as if to wipe away the thought and looked at the boys brightly. “Well, now that we’re here, what should we do first?”

A slow grin unfurled on Uruha’s face as he realized that rather than punish them for escaping the palace, the emperor wanted to join them. He suddenly noticed that the emperor was dressed in the same clothes as they were.

“Did you take those from the laundry room?” The blond asked, surprised enough to just voice his question. 

Kai looked over himself, Aoi following suit and laughing when he realized. “Yes,” the emperor answered honestly before a sly grin appeared on his face, “and I happened to see an ill hidden short stack of girls’ clothing in there as well. I wonder who that could belong to?”

Uruha felt his cheeks heat up and a sliver of worry worked its way into his thoughts. If the emperor could find them so easily, then anyone else would be able to just as easily. 

“Don’t worry,” Kai began, “I tucked them into place, so nobody will see them.” Kai winked and the blond felt relieved. It was good to know the emperor’s protection extended past his forgiveness of their deception.

Aoi looked between the two for a moment before he couldn’t ignore the festival time being wasted anymore and spoke up.

“Well what do you want to do first? I saw squid on a stick back there!” His eyes got a glossy look at the thought.

Kai laughed. “Have either of you even brought any money?”

Aoi blinked, snapping out of his momentary stupor and looked at Uruha who looked equally nervous now. The brunet’s body sagged, his face melting into a pout.

“We didn’t bring any.”

Kai laughed and pulled a small cloth sack out of his pocket, shaking it lightly so the boys could hear the clinking of the contents. 

“Don’t worry, I did. Let’s go get some food then!” Kai grinned and began to lead them back to the squid on a stick stall. Aoi and Uruha smiled at each other, unable to believe their luck.

They walked back to the booth and Kai purchased three squid on a stick, the person running the booth did not recognize Kai at all and treated them all as average customers. They began to wend their way through the throng of people after turning around to go back the way they had come and continue through the festival. 

Aoi pointed excitedly at small booths with trinkets where they paused to peruse and stopped dead in front of some of the games, watching others play, eyes alight with the desire to play, too. Uruha followed behind quietly, taking it all in and, occasionally, finding things he really wanted but biting his tongue and moving on. When Aoi saw a game he wanted to try, all three of them ended up playing, occasionally competing one against the other (like when Uruha devastated Aoi at darts) but, more often, all three competed good naturedly each getting several small prizes for beating the others at different games.

As they walked around they seemed to pick up a crowd of girls who began to follow them around. Every time they won a game the girls would clap and if they lost the girls would flutter sympathetically about. The bolder ones introduced themselves and told them they were handsome. 

This made Aoi and Uruha blush and act silly, not knowing what to do or say as this had never before happened to them. After a while they just copied Kai and politely thanked them before moving on to the next thing. 

By the time they walked down the street so far that booths had turned into restaurants and bars overflowing with people, the three were in need of a good place to rest and Kai had the perfect solution.

“Why don’t we go to an izakaya? We’d have a room all to ourselves and we could have some drinks,” he suggested

The two readily agreed to this plan. They hadn’t had much opportunity to drink or even just act like regular guys so they weren’t about to miss a chance to do something very much not within their usual scope of proper behavior. 

“Wait, something is missing.” Kai stopped, reaching out for a nearby potted aoi plant and breaking off a small twig of leaves. “You can’t say you’ve properly attended the Aoi Matsuri without wearing this. Come here.” He motioned to Aoi and reached for his head, placing the leaves through the half ponytail at the back of his head until they were properly arranged. He then broke off another twig and did the same for Uruha. 

“Much better.” He proclaimed and continued walking in the direction of the izakaya.

“Wait!” Aoi stopped him and placed some of the leaves on Kai’s hair as well. “There. All pretty and ready to be seen by the emperor.” Kai smiled at Aoi’s little joke but froze when Aoi pressed his lips against his. It was only a small peck, but still a kiss nonetheless. The younger man smiled wide and grabbed his hand, pulling him in the direction they had been heading. It took Kai a moment to realize what had just happened before he felt the tugging on his arm and moved forward. 

Aoi carried on, unfazed by his own action. Uruha, on the other hand, followed slowly behind. He’d seen what his best friend had done and part of him felt a sudden tinge of jealousy. 

“Come on!” Aoi walked back, one hand still holding Kai’s as he reached out for the blond’s. “I wanna try all the sake! You’re walking too slow.” 

Seeing the excitement on Aoi’s face, however, appeased the surge of jealousy. Who was he to deny Aoi that happiness? Either way they looked at it, their sole purpose was to make Kai happy. And why not enjoy it while they were at it? Was it so bad that the two might actually develop real feelings for the kind emperor? Uruha supposed the only danger in that was not having those feelings reciprocated, so he held onto his. But that didn’t mean he wasn’t curious about them. 

They entered the bar and were seated in short order. Kai ordered them a few sets of small foods and a round of drinks and it wasn’t long at all before they were served. The three of them could toss them back like professionals. Or so Kai thought, until after about the fourth drink the boys’ faces became flushed and their manner far more relaxed than usual. 

Aoi finished another and set the cup down on the table, pointing at it and looking at Uruha seriously. “Is it me, or is this really good?” He turned to Kai. “It’s really good, right?”

The blond nodded enthusiastically in response to Aoi’s question and took another drink. The emperor laughed. He had drank just as much as they had but he was clearly a much more accomplished drinker. 

Kai was certain that by the end of the night Uruha and Aoi would be a mess to contend with but he wasn’t going to stop them when they were all having such a good time. Every time a new food was placed on the table Aoi would get excited to the point of bouncing where he sat. 

The emperor noticed after a while that the boys were sitting seiza and pointed it out to them. 

“You know, you can sit with your legs crossed.” He smiled and gestured at his own lap. “You’re men, remember?”

The matching looks on their faces said they hadn’t even thought about it before but they both immediately adjusted, sighing in relief before Aoi began to shake the sleep from them.

They stayed there for a couple hours before Aoi did something that convinced Kai that it was probably time for them to pack it up.

Aoi finished off the last takoyaki with a groan not unlike somebody who had just came in his pants, Uruha giving the plate a look of longing as if he wished it were still full.

“Kaaaaaiiiiii,” Aoi began, his words long but not necessarily slurred, “you’re so good to us! I could just kiss you!”

Kai laughed, but the brunet suddenly got a look on his face like he was thinking very hard about something. Then, without warning, he grabbed the front of the emperor’s yukata and yanked him closer, landing a clumsy kiss on Kai’s surprised mouth for the second time that night.

Aoi pulled back and smiled in self satisfaction, nodding before he took another big swig of the drink in front of him. 

Kai looked around to Uruha, whose face was blank, studying the drink in front of him for a long moment before he picked it up with both hands and downed the remaining contents in one long draw. The blond set the cup back on the table and then seemed to feel the emperor’s stare, looking around at him. 

He smiled, in a dopey, but genuine sort of way that told Kai that even if he wasn’t prepared for what had just happened, he'd accepted and forgiven the action.

The staff walked back into the room then, bearing another round of drinks. Kai allowed them to be set out but then told the server they’d be leaving after that. They drank the last round and, though Aoi protested, all three of them stood up to leave. 

They had barely walked out of the shop when it became apparent to Kai that the two weren’t going to make the return trip back to the castle without support. And so, they walked side by side with Kai in the middle, an arm around each of their waists as they led him back through the woods to the palace. 

Kai hadn’t thought this was the most intelligent way but was easily convinced that it was because they’d be less likely to be caught for sneaking out by going this way. With many stumbles and giggles as the party tripped over roots, often catching themselves only because Kai was standing steadily, they made their way back to the palace.

They ducked and ran, laughing when all three fell down when one of them stumbled over a bump under the grass, quickly stifling it when they realized how close to the castle they were. The palace was quiet as they approached and they each shushed each other as they slipped into the same door Kai had left by and tiptoed their way to the laundry room. 

They all changed back into their normal clothes in relative silence, Kai magically transforming back into the dignified emperor as Uruha and Aoi became every bit the girls they were supposed to be. 

When the emperor finished dressing and turned to look at the boys he didn’t try to take his eyes away from the sight of their bared skin and, rather than covering themselves modestly when they noticed his gaze, the two struck poses and winked, asking “like what you see?” in husky voices. It sent them all into quiet laughter and the two quickly finished changing. 

After they had, Kai walked over to them, gently touching the kimono’s fabric on both of them. 

“I will miss your male attire, that is sure, but this isn’t bad either,” he shrugged. “I do like what I see.” Kai gazed at them with half lidded eyes for a moment before seeming to gather himself and remember they were all in a laundry room and he wasn’t sure either of them were truly ready for what he was alluding to. 

The emperor took a step back and cleared his throat, taking one hand from each of them and pressing chaste kisses to their knuckles.

“Goodnight, ladies,” he said, an amused sparkle in his eyes as he straightened up and released their hands. 

With that, Kai turned and left the room. He had a small but growing problem in his pants that he rather needed to deal with immediately.

Uruha and Aoi watched Kai leave, regretting the end of the evening more than ever as the door to the laundry room closed softly behind him.

“Let’s go, Aoi,” Uruha broke the silence, his face set in a determined grimace as he walked forward and checked that the hall was all clear. They each attempted to tiptoe as quietly as possible back to their quarters but it seemed to make them even louder as they tripped over their own feet, unable to stop the whispered laughs that renewed each time one of them stumbled. 

They reached their rooms and collapsed in a heap across their two futons, Uruha yanking one of the blankets over them both and it wasn’t long before the two fell asleep, snoring heavily, unbeknownst to them.

It was so disruptive that the girls attempted to wake them many times. At first, they tried to do it subtly and when that didn’t work they began pushing roughly on their shoulders and arms. This strategy was met with moderate success, as they woke up only long enough to wave the girls off and fall back asleep.

By the time the morning arrived the girls were so annoyed that they complained to the matrons, who entered the quarters in their own irritation to assess the situation. When it became clear that the boys were very much drunk, the smell coming off them a dead giveaway, the matrons decided to begin their punishment immediately. They sent a couple of girls for water and, when they arrived with the buckets, dumped the water unceremoniously over the two boys’ heads. 

They both awoke coughing, sputtering, and sopping wet. The horror of being awakened in such a manner was quickly shelved, though, as the two felt the splitting headaches that accompanied the aches already settling in the rest of their bodies. The matrons were merciless, though, and they were immediately put to work. 

This workload only worsened once word got around about the state the two were in that morning. 

“Ha~” one of the girls let out a little chuckle as she stopped into the bathhouse to gloat, “you guys are in for it now.”

The two chose not to rise to her bait, knowing that they couldn’t think clearly enough to retaliate should she come up with a good insult. It all became very clear, though, an hour later when the emperor’s fiance swept into the concubine’s quarters where the two had moved on to airing out the futons.. 

“Now you fools have done it,” she remarked before leaving with a condescending chuckle. Right after she left, a harried looking matron came in and led them out without waiting for them to finish their task. 

They had gone to a part of the castle the two had never before been in. They were seated formally for only ten minutes before the last person the two had expected glided in, looking regal and beautiful, but the emperor’s step mother. 

The two bowed deeply as she stood over them. There was a moment of silence, then, “I see you two have made fools of yourselves, again.”

Aoi and Uruha let the comment pass, still bowing as they had not been instructed to rise.

“Well, ladies, since you insist on defiling our status like a pair of pigs, that’s where you can go. You will spend the day cleaning up the pigsty.” She paused for a long moment, no doubt hoping for a response. When it became apparent that one was not forthcoming, she seemed to become irritated. 

“Don’t waste my time in this manner again. Learn your place.” She began to leave the room but stopped just in front of the door. “That applies to all situations.” Without further ado, she swept dramatically out of the room. 

The two were given different clothing to change into so they didn’t sully their concubine wear and sent directly to the pigpens where they began to work. 

About a minute after they were set to the task, Aoi was overcome by the smell and threw up in the bucket where they were supposed to be throwing the waste, his back muscles clenching as he heaved. Uruha rubbed his back in sympathy.

“Breathe through your mouth and block off your nose, okay?”

Aoi nodded weakly as they returned to their task. By the end of the day they were dirty and sore beyond anything they would have thought possible. Neither of them had eaten all day and that night they were given mere scraps after they bathed.

The next day they were set to a similar task. This time a few of the girls came out to crow at them on the pretense of walking through the gardens. It was more bearable this time though, having recovered from the hangovers they had been dealing with the day before. They finished off the day feeling downtrodden.

As they bathed that evening, they both began to wonder if they should regret their trip to the festival but neither could bring himself to. They thought they would do the same thing a hundred more times despite the consequences. The two had, however, began to wonder why Kai hadn’t called on them since then. 

Had they done something? They had thought things were going well between them, but after all the literal crap they had to deal with and all the criticism they had endured in the last two days they had begun to wonder if Kai might actively be avoiding them, after all. 

This fear was dissolved the day after when a call from the emperor did come, effectively rescuing them from another day of hard labor. Their faces were haggard but happy at the prospect of spending time with Kai again as they were led unexpectedly outside. 

The archery range was empty save for the emperor who looked elegant as he nocked an arrow on a longbow, his spine straight as he pulled back the string, using a finger to guide the tip of the arrow into place. He drew in a deep breath, eyes laser focused on the target, before letting it out slowly and releasing. 

The string snapped forward with a twang, arrow shooting into the target quickly, a sharp thud heard when it hit the target dead center. 

Aoi and Uruha clapped and Kai turned, surprised before a wide grin split his face and he called over the two concubines. 

“I apologize for the delay in calling you. I had some matters to attend to and couldn't think of anything that might be worth your time that I was stuck doing. This, though, is not something I’d do with any of the girls. It’s too,” he paused, searching for the right word, “rough for them. But, it is something I enjoy and I was hoping that maybe you two might like to try it?” The emperor smiled sheepishly with a hand behind his head, looking much more like a boy with a crush than a powerful emperor, and then gestured toward the targets.

Kai had no reason to explain himself to the two concubines; he was the emperor, after all. However, he felt the need to somehow let the two know that their presence was missed. He enjoyed being around them. Their presence made him comfortable enough to show the more relaxed side of himself that he normally buried. Even though, lately, that relaxed feeling had been growing into something closer to butterflies in his stomach. 

It was a fluttering feeling every time the two smiled back at him, or looked at him expectantly, wondering what he might do next. They made him feel like he was somehow capable of anything. Sure, his underlings and concubines generally liked to try and stroke his ego with pretty words, but Uruha and Aoi seemed much different in this approach. They had an almost innocent blind faith in him, and he liked it. He liked it not because it made him feel important, but because he felt like they thought they could rely on him and he didn't ever want to let them down. 

“How hard can it be?” Aoi pretended to shoot an arrow at the target. “Just point and shoot, right?”

Kai chuckled. “Well, it's a little more than that.” The emperor walked to a nearby tree, against which two similar bows were leaning. He grabbed one each for Uruha and Aoi, handing it off to them. They were surprised at the weight of the bow. It wasn't heavy, just heavier than they would have expected. 

“Ok, so we are going to try this without arrows first,” Kai explained. “The first rule is for safety. If someone is standing behind this line,” he tapped a toe on the ground where a line of dirt could be seen clearly in the grass, “with an arrow nocked, then nobody can cross this line. Someone could get shot, and arrows fire with incredible speed and force from a longbow.” He shook the bow he was holding a little to emphasize his words. 

The concubines nodded, making sure their toes were behind the line.

“The second thing is stance. You'll want to stand something like this.” He demonstrated and the boys copied. “And hold your bow like this.” He showed them and then walked to each, adjusting their grips. 

“Now,” he continued, “when you nock an arrow you can set it on top of your forefinger for guidance but, if you keep it there, the feathers at the end might sting a bit as they whip by. But, before that, I want you to try and draw back the bow without an arrow.” He quickly showed them what he meant. 

Aoi and Uruha complied, shocked when even pulling the string was quite hard. Kai laughed when he noticed their flustered expressions, each looking at their bow, each other, and then him with questioning eyes. 

“Yes, they're quite difficult. That's where the power comes from. It's the reason your arrows can pierce flesh. The further back you can draw it, the harder and faster your arrow will loose.”

They nodded in understanding and each tried again. Kai walked to each and gently adjusted their stances, pushing their elbows down, adjusting their hips, and telling them where to look. He took a step back so he could observe, noticing Aoi’s arm had begun to tremble with the effort of holding the drawn string. 

“Ok, now release.”

Not a quarter second later the brunet was yelping in unexpected pain.

Kai walked over quickly, Uruha already at his side to inspect the damage.

“What happened,” asked the blond. 

“I think it hit my arm.” The brunet looked down at his arm where, indeed, a faint pink line had appeared. He then looked at Kai in question. “Does that happen every time?”

The emperor shook his head and smiled reassuringly, rolling his sleeves up to show that he had no damage on his own arm even though he had shot earlier. 

“It's all in how you hold the bow. You just need to pull your forearm out wider.” He adjusted Aoi into the correct position again. “It will be hard to hold this stance but if you lose focus due to the strain of drawing the bow, you will get a burn on your other arm. Do you want an arm guard? They do exist.” He turned to Uruha, asking the same question with his expression. 

The blond shook his head. 

“No!” Aoi exclaimed, determined to overcome this barrier. 

Kai smiled and shook his head. “Alright. So we will try it with an arrow, now.” He handed them each an arrow from the quiver he was wearing. 

“To nock the arrow, set the string in the notch on the back,” he showed them, “and rest the top on your finger,” he looked to make sure the boys were following. “Now, don't draw it, just hold it up so I can help you adjust.”

He walked to each, moving them into position. 

“Now, check that your range is clear.” They each looked around and nodded. “Ok, now Aoi will go first, then Uruha, then we will retrieve the arrows and do it again.”

He walked them through aiming as they each took their stance. Both wildly missed with their first shots. Aoi’s sailed out over the target and sank with a dull thud into the wall well behind it while Uruha’s scraped along the ground until it came to a rest underneath the target. 

They spent another hour with Kai coaching them on how to aim and shoot properly before they each finally landed an arrow in the target, albeit on the very edge. It wasn't long before they were all three smiling, the two concubines never feeling more accomplished or proud of anything they'd ever done as their arrows began to smack into the target every time.

In another hour Aoi demanded use of the target so he could practice freely. Uruha easily yielded and Kai handed the brunet his quiver. 

“Be sure to check your range, every time,” he instructed. Aoi nodded and turned his back on Uruha, who had sat down a few feet behind him. 

Aoi stepped up to the line and nocked an arrow, checking around him before lifting his bow and drawing. He breathed out and loosed an arrow, this time, his aim was true and he hit very near the center of the target. He rounded on Kai and Uruha, who both clapped as he smiled proudly and turned back, excited to continue.

Kai joined Uruha on the grass, sitting down next to him. They watched the brunet shoot a few arrows into the marker as he came closer and closer to the center. Uruha absently ran his fingertips over his arm for a moment, watching as Aoi suffered through the abuse to his own arm with every other arrow he fired, and smiled. The younger was always so determined when it meant being competitive. 

Kai noticed the marks on Uruha’s arm and reached out, pulling it near to him to inspect it.

“It gets better as you learn.” He ran his hand gently over the blond’s forearm, careful to avoid the irritated area. “I’ll have a healing balm delivered to you later to help alleviate the pain.” He then reached for the blond’s other hand. “Your fingertips will also get stronger and won’t feel so uncomfortable with time.” Kai inspected his abused fingertips as well, running his own fingertips over them. Uruha watched their hands as they made contact and then focused on Kai’s face. Uruha watched the emperor carry on in what felt like was an excuse to touch him, or, at least, he liked to think that. 

“Did it take you long to learn?” Uruha asked and held on to the emperor’s hand instead, running his own fingertips across his palm. 

“I don’t remember. I was a child when I would watch my father and sometimes he’d let me try it.” 

He sat with his palm up as Uruha continued to caress it gently. There was a charged silence. When Kai looked up he was caught face to face with the blond. His light brown eyes stared back and Kai couldn’t seem to look away either. He ran his hand up his arm and to his cheek, leaning closer to him as Uruha leaned in, as well, until their lips met. 

It was shy at first touch, but it quickly turned into a real kiss when Uruha leaned further in and slipped his tongue into Kai’s mouth. Still, it was short lived as Uruha pulled away, suddenly realizing that this wasn’t something they probably should be doing on the open field on castle grounds. Uruha smiled bashfully and then turned to look at where Aoi stood with his bow lowered, mouth agape as he looked at them. The brunet had dropped the arrow he’d held.

Kai and Uruha looked back at him. Apparently, he had made the center of the target, but whatever excitement he’d had about it was quickly washed away. He hadn’t expected Uruha to do something like that. He was always so reserved. Somewhere deep down, however, he knew that he couldn’t be selfish. After all, he’d done the same thing with the emperor during their previous meeting. It didn’t stop it from hurting, though. Despite that, the look of guilt on Uruha’s face made his own heart ache enough to bring him out of his stupor, and he bent down to pick up the arrow, forcing a smile.

“I made the center.” He tried to replay the initial excitement that he’d felt, but it was a hollow attempt. He turned to point in the direction of the target as his emotions threatened to get the best of him. “I made it. Did you notice?” He forced another smile and raised his bow. He knew it was illogical to feel hurt but it didn’t stop it from happening anyway. He felt as if his heart had dropped to the ground. He focused back on the target, but his arm now felt weak, so he put the bow down. 

“I think I need a break,” he quietly walked back and slumped to the grass. 

“Are you okay?” Uruha reached for his arm.

“Yeah, it’s fine. I think I just overdid it.”

Uruha knew Aoi was lying, his sudden silence proof of that, but he decided to give him space to work through it out on his own.

He stepped back and turned to Kai. “Can I try now?”

“Sure.” Kai stopped looking at Aoi and walked over to pick up and hand the blond his bow.

Uruha wasn’t sorry about what he’d done, and knew that Aoi would eventually come to terms with it, but knowing that didn’t stop the worry over the brunet’s reaction from eating at him. He took a deep breath and blew it out as he focused on aiming, instead, and began firing at the target.

Kai looked over at Aoi, who was just sitting there quietly, and sat near him.

“Are you okay?” He asked. Aoi nodded.

“I’m not really used to it, I guess.” 

“You don’t have to try so hard. Maybe we can find something else…”

“No, no.” He shook his head. “I want to learn. I just think it’ll take me a little more time than you guys to get it right.” He watched as Uruha made the center with what appeared to be ease.

“That’s alright. No one is rushing you.” 

Aoi nodded in agreement. He looked up at Kai. He had a feeling they weren’t just talking about archery anymore, but he was alright with it. He just needed time to figure himself out. This was uncharted territory and he’d need to feel okay with what awaited him in the future. What awaited all three of them. Kai may have been the emperor, but something told the brunet that he was just as inexperienced in this sort of thing as they were. Maybe they could sort it out together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aoiiiiiiiiiii!!! Poor baby he doesn’t even understand himself.


	8. Distance Makes the Heart Grow Desperate

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aoi is about to get a reality check.

After those last comments, Kai stood and walked over to stand behind Uruha, adjusting his body when necessary and making suggestions to try to help him avoid hitting his arm. Aoi watched these interactions with mixed feelings from his spot on the ground. A large part of him still wanted to lash out. He suppressed it as best he could and opted for distraction to keep his mind from dwelling on his thoughts too much. He stood up and jogged over to them, taking up his own bow again and beginning to practice in turns with the blond. 

They parted as the shadows of the day grew long, evening settling in. Aoi was quiet as he and Uruha walked back to the castle. The blond kept glancing over at the other and it didn’t take too many of those trepidatious looks for him to snap, still battling with his own feelings.

“What?” He didn’t look at the blond as he asked. 

Uruha studied his profile a moment before answering, both continuing their trek back to the castle.

“Just making sure you’re alright,” he paused, “you know, because you got over that little tantrum relatively quickly, for you.”

Aoi stopped dead in his tracks, anger flaring at Uruha’s word choice, and turned to face the blond. 

“A tantrum?”

Uruha also stopped a step ahead and turned back to face the brunet.

“Yes, a tantrum.” He said flatly.

Aoi bit his lip and looked around, noting how close to reentering the castle they were and holding himself back from shouting at the blond 

“Well excuse me,” he began in a low voice, “if seeing you just go and kiss someone that isn’t me is upsetting!”

Uruha nodded. “Yeah? Well, you did the same thing when we were at the festival,” he defended. He shook his head, brow furrowing as a pained look passed over his face. “That’s not fair and you know it!” He met Aoi’s accusing stare with a determined one of his own. 

Aoi ground his teeth together, body tense as he glared at his blond friend. “I know! I know it’s not,” he spat back. “Why do you think this is so hard?!” He flung his hands out and then crossed them over his chest, casting his eyes downward, face crumpling.

The blond’s features relaxed into understanding and empathy. He reached out and wrapped his fingers around the edge of Aoi’s hand, loosening his grip enough to fully grasp it and draw it towards himself. He ran a gentle thumb over the sharp knuckles of the brunet’s hand, gazing down at their linked limbs as he spoke. 

“Look,” he paused, “I know this isn’t easy, and nobody expected it, but here we are in this situation. And Kai-” he broke off, “the emperor, has been good to us. Is it so bad that we like him?” He looked up and met Aoi’s gaze on him.

Aoi looked down and didn’t respond, face still twisted in a mess of confused emotions, but he didn’t pull his hand away either. 

Uruha patted the back of the brunet’s hand and placed it by his side. He moved forward carefully and removed his shoes before he stepped up onto the veranda, looking back at his counterpart silently, waiting. Aoi followed a few moments later, removing his shoes and donning his own slippers before meeting the blond’s patient gaze. 

He studied his friend’s face closely. He still wasn’t sure he wanted to accept this new development. He didn’t want to lose Uruha to anyone, even if it was sweet Kai. He would need time to process this. He looked down and then up again, nodding in response to the question in Uruha’s eyes. 

Aoi wasn’t ready to let it go yet, but there wouldn’t be any lasting damage to their relationship from this little bump in the road. Uruha nodded back, understanding without words, and led the way back inside, feeling reassured.

The two made their way quietly inside, heading for the concubine’s rooms.

The moment they arrived at their sleeping quarters. The head matron, Yamada san, was waiting for them with a stern look on her face. 

“Don’t think for a moment that just because you’ve been summoned by the emperor again you’re done learning your lesson. It is clear that you two are incapable of staying out of trouble when you’re together, so I will have to separate you. There’s no reason you should be spending all this time getting into trouble with each other. Whatever things you two are doing in the presence of the emperor should be left to his enjoyment, not yours. Aoi, I need you to switch places with Sakura.” 

Aoi’s mouth fell open. Was she serious? If he switched he’d be on the other side of the room. He knew better than to voice his discontent, but if he had any thoughts of doing so, his words would have been cut off by the girl who he was being asked to switch with.

“WHAT!? Why am I being punished?!” But she got up from the futon she’d been sitting on and began collecting her things nonetheless.

Aoi was emotionally exhausted, he didn’t need this. He walked over in silent defeat to his things, picked up his futon and took it to the other side of the room where his new space awaited him. As he laid it out and went back for things he had near his bed he couldn’t help but overhear the other girl mumbling under her breath. 

“This is ridiculous! They act like fools and we all have to pay the price. I don’t even understand why….oooooh! I get the window!” Her complaints stopped for a moment and then she continued again. “It serves you right! I was just fine where I was, I have to rearrange my whole life for your idiocies…” Aoi stopped listening to her as he picked up the remainder of his personal effects. He took one longing look at Uruha’s futon as he walked back to the other side of the room. Maybe the distance was a good thing. He’d become so attached to the blond that he’d nearly forgotten how people never stayed in his life for long.

On his last trip back he walked past Uruha who was still just standing in the same spot where the news had been delivered to them. He could feel the blond staring at him with that look of sympathy that Uruha generally held, each time the brunet was punished alone for something but he didn’t dare look back up at him. He was still not over what had just happened and opted for keeping his silence and his head down instead. 

That night they were both restless. Their minds raced, dwelling on the events of the day, Aoi having an especially difficult time owing to his new sleeping position. Not being next to Uruha left him feeling empty and alone, an unwelcome echo of the feelings he feared he might encounter should Uruha begin to focus on the emperor to the exclusion of him. 

The next morning they both woke up looking haggard and feeling exhausted. Their separation did not end with just the movement of their futons, however. The matrons had clearly had enough and thought this was the solution to curbing their behavior. They were sent off alone to attend to chores, forced to sit separately at outings, and given no free time to spend how they pleased. 

At first, Aoi thought this was a good thing. In his heart, he was still angry at Uruha for betraying him with Kai and he thought the separation might do him some good in sorting things out. He thought that for only two days, though, before he found himself missing the blond. 

Uruha had been casting him longing looks and attempting to converse with him in the few short moments that they did have during the first two days, but the brunet had shirked him during these times and the blond had quickly realized that Aoi needed space. On the third day of separation Aoi had been paired off with Sakura to air out the futons, Uruha sent off to the laundry room with another of the girls. Sakura couldn’t seem to stop herself from dropping little hints about how lucky she was that Aoi had been “such an idiot” and gotten himself kicked out of the futon spot near the window and the wall. 

“It’s so much more luxurious than my old one, and Uruha sleeps so quietly that I never have to worry about her rolling into me.” She looked at him in consideration. “How’s it feel to be away from your girlfriend?”

Aoi didn’t rise to her bait, snapping a futon extra hard as he placed it over the bar to air it out. He’d only get himself in more trouble if he did and while half of him felt like he needed some space from the blond, the other half did desperately wish to see him again. Or even speak to him for more than ten seconds at a time. 

With the separation of tasks, the time they arrived in the sleeping quarters for the night was also not the same, and both Aoi and Uruha were struggling to complete normal bathing. As it was both of them were rushing through, looking over their shoulders the entire time. This resulted in them both being tired and cranky every time they returned to their sleeping quarters.

A few times Aoi came back, hair damp and feeling not as clean as he would like, to find Uruha’s futon still empty. He wondered what the blond was doing so late at night and wouldn’t sleep until he’d returned. On nights like those it was reassuring to see the way Uruha always checked over to Aoi’s side of the room as if to make sure the brunet was there before dropping into his own futon, but it was always a fleeting moment that made Aoi wonder if he hadn’t imagined it.

Sometimes, Uruha’s hair would be wet and in the faint light Aoi could see the water glistening off his sternum and that would be all it took for Aoi to get turned on, his body reacting despite his mind’s continued confusion. The first time this happened Aoi had a new, unpleasant, realization about his futon’s position. 

He was directly situated between two girls, with no convenient wall nearby to help him cover up what he was doing. His fingers itched to take care of the problem that he knew could and would develop into a bigger problem if he didn’t take care of it. 

The first couple times this happened he willed it away, the third time he cursed Uruha for looking so lickable as he stomped into the nearest toilet to take care of his problem in privacy. The times after that he went more quietly. His newfound quiet was because after the first time, he returned to angry looks from the girls he had awakened with his noise upon leaving. 

By the middle of the second week, Aoi couldn’t take it. He was stuck between two girls he absolutely loathed. He was so tired of having to constantly watch his back each time he bathed that he was starting to feel like he had barely had enough time to really wash up. Entering the basin for a proper soak was completely out of the question and his whole body was starting to feel it. 

He was tired of doing chores all alone; no one spoke to him other than to scold him for anything and he wasn’t even sure if Uruha cared for him anymore after the way he’d acted. It was a prison. He’d seen the blond in passing, maybe a few times when his friend walked past his futon on his way to the far end of the room. At this point, he wasn’t even sure if he might’ve even just imagined it. By the time the brunet made it to his bed, he was exhausted beyond belief and fell asleep almost immediately feeling completely worn out.

Annoyed was not the word. He couldn’t turn one way or the other without coming face to face with someone who despised him even in his sleep. He was still feeling regrets about his reaction to Uruha kissing Kai and now he mostly just missed his friend. Aoi missed being able to talk to him, even sharing their misery was better dealt with together. 

Aoi couldn’t sleep that night. Despite his weariness, he now couldn’t seem to fall asleep. He sat up and looked over to where Uruha was sleeping. He could see the outline of his body facing in the direction of the wall. The wall he used to sleep next to. When he was close enough to touch his friend. That same place where the two had first experienced their teenage hormonal urges

Speaking of which, Aoi was starting to lose his mind. Thoughts of Uruha and the things they’d done plagued him. He couldn’t even jerk off properly, being stuck between two girls. The frustration was becoming overwhelming. 

He barely slept again that night and woke up to the news that he’d been summoned to see none other than Kodachi. It was the last thing he needed or wanted, but he couldn’t see a way to avoid it. He tried to catch Uruha for a moment several times before he was prepared by Yamada san, just to tell him where he was going, but he wasn’t able to see him for more than a few seconds at a time before it was too late and the matrons were jamming his feet into those uncomfortable platform sandals again and sending him stumbling off to another quarter of the castle to which he had never been previously invited.

It was with much reluctance that he stood in front of a shuttered double door with one of the matrons’ assistants. She didn’t say a word and Aoi didn’t have anything to say to her either, so he spent the seemingly extremely long wait before he was granted entrance in stolid silence, his mind consumed with anxiety.

When he was finally admitted he immediately wished he hadn’t been. The setup of the room was fairly innocuous, at first glance, a simple kotatsu placed in the center with a hotpot in the middle, but alarm bells were sounding in Aoi’s mind. 

Not only was it the completely wrong season for such a furniture piece but that piece offered way too many openings for things to happen underneath it. Kodachi had tried his hand at inappropriate touching in the emperor's quarters out in the open the last time they had seen them, so Aoi had no problem conjuring up many situations in which Kodachi could attempt to cop a feel or, even worse, discover the male anatomy normally safely hidden under a dress. 

He entered the room cautiously, casting his eyes about in search of his dinner host this evening. When he spotted nobody, he moved forward and seated himself carefully, legs outside the kotatsu as he sat in seiza. He was wondering if he could play it off naturally when the door opened again and Kodachi entered. 

Aoi turned at the waist and bowed politely as the man made his way to the table, taking a seat directly across from him. 

“Now, now,” he smiled genially and Aoi had to repress the urge to shudder, “don’t stand on formality! Please, sit comfortably, under the kotatsu.” His eyes became hard as he uttered the last sentence and Aoi understood it to be a command rather than a request. 

He shifted slightly, putting just the fronts of his knees under the heavy blanket of the table. The man gave him an incredulous look and Aoi shifted a bit more, covering up to mid-thigh with the blanket. It was stiflingly warm under there and the brunet could feel the proximity of the other man’s crossed legs to his own. 

Aoi bowed slightly before speaking. “How can I help you today, Kodachi sama?”

The advisor’s smile didn’t meet his eyes as he replied. “I just wanted to see you, of course. You’re quite beautiful, I’m sure many men would appreciate the honor.”

He offered Aoi a bowl which the brunet reluctantly took, and they each began to ladle some broth into their dishes before Kodachi grabbed his own chopsticks and began placing various things from the pot into Aoi’s bowl across the table. He continued by doing the same for himself.

“Eat, eat,” he invited.

Aoi delicately sniffed the dish offered to him. It smelled fine but he wouldn’t put it past the man to try and poison him after how he had threatened him the first time. Nevertheless, he picked up his chopsticks and grabbed a tiny floating scallion, placing it in his mouth and swallowing. 

“There now, that wasn’t so bad, was it?” Kodachi smiled, showing his teeth beneath his patchy mustache. It looked like he’d tried to grow a full one but couldn’t quite manage, his beard also bearing that deficiency. 

Aoi gave a tight-lipped, short-lived smile in response. He was trying to hold his tongue. He didn’t know if the man was just buttering him up because he thought he was in danger of Aoi telling Kai of his antics or if he was going to try something again. 

He needn’t have wondered at all though, for a moment later he felt the man’s sharp toenails brush across the side of his thigh. He suppressed a gag as he carefully tried to sip the broth.

“I find myself intrigued by you two, so I thought I’d call on you separately this time so I could see how each of you behaved individually.”

Aoi felt a foot brush along the outside of his thigh.

“Come now! I insist you sit comfortably! There’s no need for seiza here.”

Another command veiled in a tone of camaraderie. Aoi shifted, keeping his knees firmly together and bending his legs beside him. He’d be damned if this old pervert ever found out that he was a guy from exploring his unwilling body with his disgusting feet. 

He felt those feet move up and down his thighs, one rolling over to press into the space where his thighs met, actively trying to separate them as the advisor continued slurping down his food, now going for seconds as if he weren’t molesting Aoi underneath the table. 

The man stopped, feet retreating, and Aoi felt relief for a moment, forcing himself to take another sip of his soup. It was a momentary reprieve though, as Kodachi soon stood from his spot behind the table and moved to situate himself comfortably beside Aoi. 

The brunet leaned away as the man tried a new tactic, one of his hands coming to rest on Aoi’s knee beneath the kotatsu. 

“You will reconsider my offer, won’t you?” The man squeezed Aoi’s knee, moving slowly up it, eyes boring straight into the brunet’s. 

Aoi was frozen in place as he felt the hand travel up his leg, getting nearer and nearer to the identifying feature hidden under his dress, a vegetable dangling from his barely clasped chopsticks as his fear choked him.

Had Uruha also had to deal with this? How many times had he seen Kodachi without Aoi there to protect him? The idea of those filthy hands touching any part of Uruha simultaneously made his blood boil and his stomach churn. 

But, just then, the image of the blond kissing Kai surged to the forefront of his thoughts. It was different, the way he felt about that versus the sickened feeling he got when he thought of Uruha being touched by the advisor. It was much different. Uruha welcomed the emperor and Aoi was only afraid of Kai not reciprocating the feelings given to him, which would hurt the blond. It was an awakening moment. He wasn’t jealous, he was scared, scared for Uruha’s heart. He wanted to protect him, in all aspects. That made all the difference.

The man’s fingers squeezed hard at the top of his thigh and Aoi jerked out of his paralysis, yanking his leg up sharply, sending the soup tumbling and splashing over both his lap and Kodachi’s arm. 

Aoi cried out in pain, quickly grabbing the fabric of the kimono he wore to lift the burning soup from his skin, and Kodachi shrieked, clutching his burned arm.

‘You stupid girl! Look what you’ve done!”

The brunet pulled his body out from under the kotatsu, standing up and bowing as he fled the room, overwhelmed. He quickly made his way to the bathhouse, grateful that the coast was clear due to the late hour of his return and removed his kimono. He stopped when he had it off, realizing with a surprising jolt of sadness that it was the one Kai had gifted him. He set it aside gently, considering how he would get it clean later. He hoped he hadn’t ruined it.

He hissed as he pulled off his shift that was sticking to his legs. His thighs stung and burned as the air hit them. He sat on the edge of the tub to assess the damage. Mostly, his skin was red. He was grateful for the layers he was wearing for having stopped the worst of the damage. However, there were some spots that had turned a sickly white color in the center. They would leave scars. He smiled in grim satisfaction as he noticed this. The advisor’s arm was going to be ugly and the man definitely deserved it. 

He poured some cool water over the marks, trying to get them to hurt less before he washed up quickly, only just remembering that even if he was in pain, he was still in danger of being caught in his naked state. He had never missed Uruha so fiercely as he did that moment. The blond would know just how to comfort him and could watch the door for him as he tried to save his melted skin from further damage. 

He finished cleaning up quickly after that, donning a light shift for the night so his wound could get plenty of air and dropping the kimono off in the laundry room. He would deal with that tomorrow. He figured the damage couldn’t get any worse. 

That night didn’t allow for much sleep for the brunet. He couldn’t find a good way to rest in which his leg wasn’t in pain and his mind was so focused on the injury that it seemed to shut out all thoughts that weren’t to do with Kodachi’s creepy hands all over him or Aoi’s growing fear that Uruha had been subjected to the same thing. He found small comfort in seeing the blond peacefully sleeping across the room but wished he could be there with him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor bby!!! Just reading this last section grossed me out all over again. 🤮


	9. Reaching the Limit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aoi’s sleep deprivation begins to take a toll on his sanity.

The next morning was hard. Aoi was sent outside to sweep the veranda and every time he moved the scratchy cloth over his leg sent another jolt of pain through him. As a result, it took him twice as long to complete his duty and only encouraged the jeering of the other girls who were set to similar tasks around him. 

He was so tired and hot and in enough pain from his burns that his brain seemed to turn to mush while he worked, and by the time he had finished he couldn’t focus on anything. He longed for a break.

Aoi walked in a daze back into the castle. He had long since begun to wonder if he was alive anymore, or even human. His sleep-deprived haze was surely causing him to hallucinate now. He swore he saw Uruha walking towards him down the long hallway. The brunet simply kept his head down, knowing that he was probably seeing someone else and imagining his friend instead. 

The moment he walked past the figure, he was pulled back roughly to face them. His day was just getting better and better, now he was being picked on by random individuals. The fight that he usually held was at an all-time low and he just shut his eyes and breathed in deep as he waited for the scolding. 

“Are you planning on ignoring me forever?” Came the familiar voice. Aoi looked up but was caught speechless by the hurt and anger held in those normally gentle eyes that he’d come to love so much.

“Are you really going to hold this over me?” Uruha was tired of the avoidance. He had tried to talk to the brunet, but after the first two days of Aoi blatantly ignoring him, he’d decided to give him space. But it had gone on for too long. Nearly two weeks had gone by and at this point, he was sure that Aoi was just purposely ignoring him. So they hadn’t had much time to talk alone, but anything was better than nothing at all. The matrons couldn’t possibly expect them to avoid each other completely, living in the same room.

“I’m sorry!” Aoi suddenly blurted out. “I’m not avoiding you. I thought you were ignoring me. I don’t even know what’s real or not anymore. You might just be a hallucination, I’m so tired, I can’t sleep, I’m miserable, I acted like an idiot, I might just wake up from this but I need to say it. I miss you!” There was so much going on and so much to say but whether this was a dream or if it was real Aoi knew one thing was for sure, he didn’t have much time before he either woke up or someone came looking for either one of them and he needed to get it out. 

Uruha’s eyes instantly softened at the sight of Aoi looking as distraught as he was.

“I didn’t want to share you, but I’d rather that than nothing at all. I don’t care that it’s Kai, I was just scared that you’d leave me like everyone else.”

“Aoi, why would I ever leave you? Where am I going?” He grabbed ahold of the brunet who buried his face against the blond. This was real. This embrace was real. He could feel Uruha’s arms around him. Aoi closed his eyes and tried to take it all in, every piece of the blond that he could, but he still had more he needed to get off his chest and time was not something they had. He pulled back with tears in his eyes.

“I’ve never had anything of my own. Someone of my own. I wanted you to be mine. I’m sorry, I was selfish—“

“Aoi, I’m always going to be yours. This will never change. We don’t even know if he really likes us, why are we still on about this?” 

“It’s okay. I get it now. If it’s the emperor, it’s okay. I just don’t want anyone else touching you. I can’t stand the thought of someone hurting you.” 

Uruha fought his own tears. Aoi was worried about him. He wanted to just kiss away his fears. The blond quickly looked around and pulled Aoi into a nearby empty space out of the hallway view. 

“I don’t feel for you any less.” He wiped away a falling tear from the brunet’s cheek and kissed him. Within an instant, Aoi’s hands were on his neck, pulling him in. They’d missed this. They needed the contact they’d been denied for so many days. Aoi pressed himself against the blond, wanting to feel him near. His hands roamed everywhere they could reach. He wasn’t even sure what it was he wanted, just all of Uruha. 

The blond leaned down and picked him up, pinning him on the wall. Aoi simply wrapped his legs around him despite the pain of his clothing rubbing against his recent burns, just wishing he could be fulfilled by him. 

“You’re so infuriating.” Uruha pulled back for a second, before placing kisses down Aoi’s neck. The brunet’s head thudded back as he allowed a soft moan to escape. 

“I want you inside me, Uruha.” He ground his hips down, knowing the blond was just as hard as he was. “I don’t care if it hurts. Let’s just do it...please.”

Aoi needed to feel connected and Uruha wanted only to please him. His thoughts quickly spun out of control in his mind, trying to think of any possible way the two could escape together for a moment. But he could think of nothing. It didn’t help that having Aoi in his arms practically begging to be taken after all this time of separation was giving him other thoughts that weren’t allowing him to think clearly of much else. That was until they heard a door slam closed and hurried footsteps coming down the hall. Aoi’s head dropped to Uruha’s shoulder defeated once again and turned on beyond imagining. Uruha settled him down and hurried into the hallway. 

“Don’t go out that way!” He nearly ran to the person walking down the hall. “There are bees everywhere! Someone must’ve knocked over their beehive! They’re everywhere outside that door.”

The woman looked at Uruha, taken aback, and turned to walk back the way she had come. She shook her head. What a strange girl. 

Uruha sighed and slumped against the wall in relief for a moment before he turned to look down the hallway. Aoi must have slipped away at the moment Uruha had bought with his wild explanation. He was lucky that woman had bought it, though he thought she might have turned around simply to escape his presence. He felt a twinge of disappointment upon noticing that Aoi had, indeed, left the hallway. 

He willed his still racing heart to calm down, struggling to compose himself before straightening up and heading off to finish the task he had been set to.

That was their first encounter of the week of that kind, but not the last, each one ending in a similar fashion. Every time Aoi and Uruha met up they didn’t seem able to keep their hands off each other, each knowing they didn’t actually have enough time to do anything but trying anyway. These encounters left both of them increasingly more horny and frustrated, the continued separation making it even more so. Therefore, by the time the emperor called them, they were each so pent up that it was all they could do to resist each other in the short moments they had alone before Kai allowed them to enter his quarters.

It was with no small amount of excitement that they readied themselves when called upon, knowing that they would be happy to see Kai again, but, more than that, they’d get to be in each other’s presence comfortably again for as long as Kai would have them. So, they waited impatiently outside his doors, resenting the guards posted there all the while. 

It wasn’t actually long at all until they were allowed in and it was with great relief that they walked into the adjoining sitting area. There was food laid out on some low tables, which curbed Aoi’s impatience a little as they both settled behind a table to wait for Kai, who was, oddly, not yet present.

They didn’t wait long at all before Kai came in, which was good because either Aoi was going to start eating the food or he was going to start eating something else entirely. 

The emperor came in and sat down, greeting the boys with a wide, happy smile. He looked as tired as the other two felt but called it a “boring business conversation” when the boys asked what he had been up to. When he asked them in return though, they were much less cryptic about what had occurred in his absence, immediately launching into complaints about having been separated.

“So...you guys haven’t seen much of each other these past weeks?” The emperor’s brow furrowed as he took a bite of food. 

The two nodded earnestly, neither turning from their plates of food to respond verbally. 

“Is that why you look so tired?”

They both paused mid-chew and looked at the emperor and then each other. They hadn’t really noticed it on each other, but now that they looked, they realized they each must have been suffering from the same issues. 

They finished up the meal quickly, Aoi laying flat on his back taking, deep, sleepy breaths as the other two observed him, laughing.

“That was delicious. I’m so stuffed.”

Uruha reached over and poked Aoi in the stomach and he groaned loudly, rolling onto his side and glaring at the blond. 

Kai laughed lightly. “Seems like you aren’t really up to doing too much else tonight. Maybe we should walk off the food.”

Uruha shrugged in agreement and Aoi nodded, sitting up. 

Kai stood and the other two followed as he walked through the set of doors that led to his bedroom.

The other two trailed him as he walked in, crossing the room to his desk. Both of them stared at the bed in the center of the room longingly, and Aoi’s thoughts abruptly took a sharp turn from sleepy to lewd, the stirring in his gut washing away any pure thoughts he might have had about that bed. 

He glanced to the side and saw Uruha’s eyes glued to it as well, the look in them equally as lusty. The brunet turned to glance at Kai consideringly. He doubted very much that the emperor would complain should the two make use of his bed in that way as long as he got to join in and, at that moment, Aoi was wondering what the man would have in store for them. 

He bit his lip for a second as he considered it, but he had reached his limit. “When are you gonna plow our asses?!” 

Aoi blushed deeply as he said this, immediately taking a step back and biting his lip again, hands clasping in front of him, eyes still focused determinedly on the emperor. 

The surprised look on Kai’s face shifted into a hesitant grin. 

“Is that an invitation, Aoi? Because I’d be happy to do it right now if it is.”

Uruha turned wide, reprimanding eyes on the brunet. What was he doing, reminding Kai of this? Why was Aoi like this every time?! He wasn’t supposed to bring it up!

The brunet was now looking as if he wasn’t sure he was ready for it and turned doe eyes on Uruha, unsure what to say.

The blond rolled his eyes and steeled himself. Well, it wasn’t like he was particularly opposed to doing things with the two of them, especially if it meant he got to freely touch Aoi. So, he took a step out in front of Aoi and began removing his clothing without a word. 

Kai’s eyes followed him, his face disbelieving as he watched the clothes shed layer by layer as Uruha pulled ties and untucked belts to slowly reveal first underclothes and, finally, bare skin to the emperor’s appraising eyes. 

Uruha could feel Aoi’s eyes boring into his back and couldn’t stop the blush from dusting his cheeks as he fingered the tie on his last article of clothing hesitantly.

At this, Aoi stepped up to his side.

“Go on,” he prompted softly, eager eyes glued to the blond even as he began to loosen his own clothing. 

The blond didn’t hesitate a moment longer, following Aoi’s instruction and removing the last article of clothing hiding his modesty. Aoi began to strip quickly after that, not willing to let Uruha be the only one standing naked any longer than necessary and trying to hurry now.

As the last of Aoi’s clothes hit the floor, Uruha couldn’t help but stare in awe. The brunet was beautiful, body flushed in want and, probably, embarrassment as he stood naked before him and the Emperor for the first time. 

Kai swallowed hard as he watched the most beautiful concubines he’d ever seen in his court standing naked before him. His mouth suddenly felt dry and he couldn’t wait to have them both. He’d thought about this moment for a long time now, but even as emperor he did not wish to force them to do anything they weren’t willing to do. This was true for all of his concubines. Fortunately for him, most of the girls couldn’t wait for the opportunity while the two men before him had hesitated from the start. Kai knew they had history and secrets that only the two could share and he hoped that maybe, one day, he’d be let in on that, too. But, for now, his body just couldn’t wait to experience intimacy with them and he hoped that they felt the same.

Despite having been the one to blurt it out, Aoi was definitely scared. He momentarily remembered the stories the girls told and even though everything he knew of the emperor said otherwise, a certain fear was still present. Sensing Aoi’s hesitation, Uruha stepped up to Kai before the emperor had a chance to make a move, offering himself to spare his best friend as the curiosity he’d felt for Kai simultaneously rose. The emperor placed his hands on his arm and ran them down his soft skin until he reached his hand and led him to the large bed atop the platform. 

“You can come too.” Kai looked to Aoi as he stood, just watching his best friend being led to be someone else’s. 

Uruha sat on the mattress and scooted further in to allow space for Kai to follow. Aoi stood at the base, still conflicted about what he should do. Part of him was curious, part was scared and wanted to get it over with, and his heart felt like it was breaking again at the same time as he watched Uruha lay down while staring solely at Kai with half-lidded light brown eyes. He shook the thought away. They’d been through this already, this wouldn’t change a thing for them. They were merely including a third person. One that he was happy to welcome.

From where the brunet stood, he could see the way Kai was running his hands down the blond’s sides. He watched as the emperor took his legs, parted them gently, and ran his hands between them until they disappeared between his thighs. Aoi watched him reach for a small flask and pour some of its contents generously onto his hand. Moments later, he watched as Uruha gripped the bedsheets with a loud gasp. Aoi practically ran up the steps and knelt next to the edge of the bed to check on his friend. 

He watched the way Uruha’s body responded each time Kai’s fingers slid in and out of him. His eyes were shut tight as his body arched slightly off the bed. Aoi could see Kai’s hand between the blond’s legs pressing into him with delicate movements. A second and later a third finger were added and Uruha moaned turning his head in Aoi’s direction. The look he gave him said it all as he reached for Aoi’s hand on the mattress. The brunet dragged his knees onto the bed, to be closer to the blond. He looked up at Kai who seemed to be concentrating on his task and opted for holding Uruha’s hand tighter.

Kai looked up to see the worried look on the younger man’s face.

“Aoi, I need your help.” 

Aoi’s attention snapped to Kai. What could the emperor possibly need from him when he held everything that was dear to him in his hands already. 

“Come here.” Aoi scooted closer to him. “You see, Uruha is having trouble enjoying this without you. And I don’t want to do this unless he truly wants it.” Uruha looked up at Kai. Of course, he wanted this. His body was already on fire and waiting, but the emperor was not wrong to think that this would be much more enjoyable if Aoi wasn’t just watching with a look of internal conflict on his pretty face. 

“What can I do?” 

“Do what you’ve always wanted to do. There are no restrictions here. No one to stop you or interrupt you.” 

This was an open invitation, one that Aoi wasn’t sure what to do with, if he was honest. Their experimenting had led them to intercourse but this felt much more intimate. The brunet placed a tentative hand on Uruha’s stomach and ran it up towards his chest. He could feel his heart racing beneath his palm.

Aoi leaned down and placed a soft kiss to where his heart was beating the strongest. When he lifted his head up, Uruha’s eyes were on him; a gentle smile on his face that was quickly interrupted by another gasp. But before Aoi could turn to see what Kai was doing to cause it, Uruha pulled him down to kiss him with all the need he’d been harboring all the time they’d been unable to finish what they had started. 

Aoi sat on the bed with a hand on one side of the blond and another on the back of his neck to hold him in place. Uruha moaned again as he bit lightly on the brunet’s lip. Those lips were made to be kissed and Uruha would make it his job to be the one to kiss them hourly if he could. But there was much more that Uruha was experiencing at the moment. 

With one hand holding Aoi to him he used his free hand to reach for Kai. He’d had enough of being teased, he wanted it all. He pulled his legs up higher, spreading wide for the emperor to take him. An invitation that Kai would not turn down. The blond located his dick and began to stroke it over his clothes while he continued kissing Aoi. Kai had yet to remove anything. He hadn’t been entirely convinced of how far the three might go tonight. But seeing this play out, he wasn’t sure he could hold back much longer. He began removing layer by layer in a much less graceful manner than he normally would. 

He cursed his royal garb as he struggled for a moment with undoing some of it all while watching Uruha as he ran a hand down Aoi’s back then around to his crotch. His other hand he ran down his own inner thigh as he pushed his leg to the side, reminding Kai that he was waiting. Kai practically yanked the remainder of his clothing off in desperation when he heard Aoi moan softly in response to whatever it was that Uruha was doing to him. 

The emperor finished undressing and returned his hands to Uruha, more turned on than he’d ever been. The blond wrapped his hand around Kai’s member and led it to his own entrance, unable to hold back any longer. The emperor took the flask of lubricant and poured out more of the liquid, coating himself before he began pushing into the blond’s tight hole. 

Uruha moaned into Aoi’s mouth as the pressure increased and he felt Kai’s dick breach his entrance. The hand he had been using to tease Kai into coming closer was put to use, tangling in Aoi’s locks to hold the brunet in place as he bit at the other’s kiss swollen lips. The blond was shocked to discover that, this time, it didn’t hurt at all. The presence of something inside him was foreign and strange, but not unwelcome or painful like it had been with the first attempt that he’d made with Aoi. He wondered if the lube truly did make all the difference and this is why it had been so much better for Aoi when the two of them had done it. But he didn’t have time to focus on such things when Kai was finally deep inside him and Uruha could do little more than focus on him. 

He couldn’t help pressing into Kai, urging him to move as he remembered that he had a hand on Aoi’s dick and began to move it again. The emperor didn’t need inviting twice and he pulled out and pushed back in smoothly, slowly. To Uruha’s continued amazement, rather than hurting the whole sensation was mildly pleasant, if nothing to focus on. His breath hitched as the emperor set a constant rhythm. The blond tried to continue jerking off his best friend but that thought was wiped from his brain a moment later. A sudden jolt of electric pleasure pulsed through him and his hips jerked as he broke the kiss with Aoi to throw his head back. This must’ve been what Aoi had been talking about when he’d urged the blond to do it again. He could only focus on getting Kai back inside him and jerked his hips down sharply, hand on Aoi’s hair slipping to his shoulder and digging in when Kai obliged him, and pushed in quickly. 

Aoi pulled back a bit, confused at Uruha’s reaction only to notice that the emperor was situated between the blond’s legs and moving rapidly. The blond’s face was screwed up in pleasure as the emperor fucked him, moaning nearly continuously. Aoi felt the fear he had been holding about having the emperor’s giant dick tear his ass up, like the girls had warned, but Uruha was clearly enjoying it and the brunet suddenly remembered what it felt like to have the blond inside him. The feeling of being completed by him. Was this what Uruha was experiencing? If so, it couldn’t be that bad with Kai if the blond’s reactions were anything to go by. He played back the feeling in his mind. Uruha pushing into him and creating a sudden need he never knew he had and he wanted Uruha to enjoy it the same way he had that day.

Aoi reached down to grab Uruha’s neglected erection, pupils blown as he watched the blond buck sharply every time either he or Kai moved. But Kai had said that he could do anything he wanted and he suddenly had the urge to wrap his mouth around Uruha’s dick, so he did exactly that. 

“Aoi!” The blond nearly yelled at the sudden sensation of the brunet’s warm mouth around him. Kai’s movements lost their tempo for a moment when he witnessed Aoi’s boldness. There was definitely more to the brunet and he couldn’t wait for him to let his guard down completely. Kai sped up, nearly coming at the sight alone. It didn’t take long until Uruha squirmed and thrashed under their touch and came without warning, mouth open in a silent cry. Kai nearly lost it the moment Uruha tightened around him, watching as Aoi not only didn’t pull away but ran his tongue up the underside of the blond’s dick, not allowing any of it to go to waste before pulling away and licking his lips for good measure. 

If Kai was hard before he was harder now but he pulled out gently anyway, releasing the grip he had on the blond’s hips after he’d done so. Uruha let go of Aoi and wrapped a weak arm around Kai’s shoulder, dragging him, without force, down into a kiss before moving back to Aoi and doing the same, getting a taste of himself in the process without caring. Not only did he not find it repulsive, he was actually turned on by the fact that Aoi seemed to enjoy tasting every part of him. 

Aoi had been curious to taste Uruha, but the only time he’d had a chance, they’d been in a rush to get back and the blond had hurried to clean it off his face.

Kai sat back on his legs and stared in disbelief. Sex with the girls was definitely different. While they were always willing and more than ready to go, they rarely stepped out of the routine. They played it safe, maintaining their image of purity. He wasn’t a stranger to sex with another man, either. He’d been lured by a subordinate a while back, but went along mostly out of curiosity. And then there were Aoi and Uruha. They didn’t pretend to be pure or honest, they just were. Rather than playing shy, they innocently gave in to their urges while exploring and that was hotter than anything he’d ever seen. 

Aoi pulled back and looked down at Uruha, whose muscles had softened as had all the lines in his face. He looked up at Aoi and then at Kai and back to the brunet.

“You want to try it, don’t you?” Aoi nodded, still hesitant, but now not only very curious but also positively burning up with lust. 

The blond smiled and gently grabbed the brunet by the waist, guiding his body overtop his own, so that their hips were lined up as the younger straddled Uruha. Aoi looked over his shoulder as Kai shuffled over behind him. 

“Aoi,” he spoke, “I won’t hurt you.” 

The brunet looked back at the blond, who nodded and smiled. He looked back over his shoulder at Kai and nodded, closing his eyes. Yes, he was still nervous, but he was also horny as hell after having seen the faces on Uruha as Kai thrusted into him. 

Uruha pulled him into a deep, distracting, kiss. He felt the emperor’s fingers caress over his bottom and then felt the press of something against his entrance. He knew he shouldn’t have been surprised that it wasn’t something as sizeable as Kai’s dick that slipped into him as he had seen what had happened with his blond counterpart, but some of him must have still been afraid of the rumors that had been spread about Kai and thought it would be. 

He was pleasantly surprised to feel fingers entering him one after another, taking their time to stretch him before the next one entered. By the time the emperor had three inside, Aoi was pushing back into the digits inside him with every move the emperor made and groaning at the loss, mouth still pressed against Uruha’s, when the fingers were removed. The emperor took his time to prepare Aoi. The last thing he wanted was to hurt him, given how tense the other seemed to have been initially. Kai began to line himself up and Uruha could see the fear in Aoi’s face as he shut his eyes tightly closed the moment he felt the blunt head of the emperor’s dick against his entrance.

“Aoi, look at me,” Uruha whispered while placing a hand on Aoi’s face. The brunet opened his eyes and stared back into calm brown eyes. 

“It’s gonna be fine, we’ve done this before.” Aoi nodded and forced himself to recall the pleasure he’d felt once Uruha was inside. Not to mention the obvious pleasure that awaited him, the same sensation that had caused Uruha to thrash and moan just minutes ago. Kai began to push in slowly. The discomfort was there but it wasn’t as painful as the younger man had expected. He almost dared say that he enjoyed it. Once fully sheathed, Kai gave him a moment to adjust. 

Uruha reached down and grabbed the brunet’s ass making room for Kai to penetrate him balls deep and causing Aoi to gasp. 

“Not so bad is it?” Uruha gave Aoi a knowing smile when Kai began moving slowly, pulling out and pushing all the way back inside. Kai set a slow pace being as gentle as he possibly could with the younger man. He wanted to make Aoi feel good; to feel safe with him. It was an emotion that the emperor couldn’t remember ever having before for anyone else but the two men beneath him.

Kai continued his slow pace until Aoi began to rock back into him. The brunet’s lips were attached to Uruha’s skin on his neck then his chest as he bit down a groan when Kai brushed against the burns on his leg when he gripped his thighs to pull him back further. 

“Ahh” He complained and grabbed Kai’s hand to place it on his hip instead. The emperor felt the rough texture on the otherwise soft skin of his leg as the brunet pulled it away, but wrote it off as a casual injury, probably obtained during one of their recent escapades into the woods. 

Aoi moaned in pleasure this time, when Kai reached a certain place inside of him. Kai continued, picking up the pace and aiming straight for that spot. Aoi let out a long, drawn out moan at this but the blond quickly moved to cover his mouth with his hand.

“You don’t need to do that here.” Kai removed the blond’s hand from Aoi’s mouth, kissing it gently and guiding it to Aoi’s dick instead. Aoi tried to suppress another moan at the feeling. The emperor smiled and then nearly frowned instantly at the realization that this was that the two were used to. Having to hide at all times, in every aspect, and somehow they managed to remain so pure and resilient. Kai couldn’t contain himself, he felt the sudden urge to kiss Aoi. Like he needed to apologize for the things life had thrown at them, but mostly like he needed to be comforted himself for the pain he suddenly felt in sympathizing for them.

Kai reached down to Aoi and turned his face to him, kissing him like he’d never kissed anyone before, like his sanity suddenly depended on it. He thrusted into the younger’s body long and hard, causing Aoi to have to pull away as he fought to breathe from the sudden sensation. Kai grabbed his hips and did it again, establishing long, hard, and deep thrusts until Aoi was a moaning mess. These boys deserved to feel nothing but good. Kai felt suddenly responsible for fixing it all. He wanted them to feel what he felt for them to feel utterly loved and wanted, to feel how much he suddenly felt he needed them. 

Aoi’s arms gave out and he held onto Uruha below him instead. Sweat slicked forehead dragging on the blond’s chest. Uruha knew he was finally enjoying it. “Feels good, doesn’t it?” 

Aoi nodded in agreement as Kai picked up the pace. The brunet looked back at the Emperor, arching his back to allow him full, unobstructed access. It only took a moment before he was moaning wantonly as Kai gripped his hips tightly and began to fuck into him as he pleased. The feeling was exquisite. 

Aoi sought Uruha’s mouth and began kissing him, his neck, then his chest. He soon traveled down his body, nipping and biting at his nipple while the blond ran his soft hands over the younger’s skin. He loved watching his face as he enjoyed being taken by the emperor. He knew he should probably feel jealous in some way, but all the time they’d spent together with Kai had led him to build a certain trust for the emperor, enough to trust him with the most precious person in his life. 

“Fuck!” Aoi gasped out, back arching as all the stimulation became too much for him at once and he came, body curved so much that his head landed on Kai’s shoulder. 

Upon witnessing that, in combination with the tightening muscles of Aoi’s sphincter, Kai could no longer hold out and quickly pulled out, come shooting across the skin of Aoi’s backside in ropes.

Aoi collapsed forward, lying on Uruha, ignoring the sticky substance trapped between them in favor of trying to breathe.

A moment later Kai dropped down beside them, body facing theirs, looking at them in wonderment. He had never felt so drained or satisfied from any of his previous sexual encounters.

Uruha shifted under the brunet, unable to get comfortable.

“Aoi,” he shifted again, “can’t breathe.”

The brunet raised a lazy brow before rolling off him so he was sandwiched between the blond and the emperor. He scooted closer to the emperor, pushing one of his legs between Kai’s and threw a hand back to urge Uruha to roll over.

Once the blond had hooked an arm around the brunet’s waist Aoi took his arm back and rested it along Kai’s side. He looked up at the emperor.

“Don’t move for a minute. Keep me warm,” he demanded before closing his eyes.

Kai smiled and shared a look with Uruha before draping an arm across the two of them. 

They all stayed like that for a while, until Aoi seemed to snap out of it and get his energy back. Then, he declared he needed a bath and maybe more food. 

Kai was happy to oblige on both requests and round two ensued in the bath before they got out and discovered food waiting for them. They ate while wearing simple robes, easy conversation flowing between them.

It was with much reluctance that they stood to leave, Kai declaring that he had work to attend to anyway while looking longingly at them. In order, he said, to resist temptation he told them that they should get dressed in the other room. So he had more clothes prepared for them and bade them a good evening (“Soon to be repeated,” said the emperor with a wink) before disappearing into his study. 

As Kai watched the boys disappear behind his chamber door he wondered to himself if he couldn’t do something to make their lives simpler. They had been separated, they had mentioned, and, no matter how he looked at it, the concubine situation wasn’t ideal for them. However, he had just thought of a possible solution to their problem. Maybe a promotion to consort would help resolve things...

When the two finally got dressed again and prepared to return to the concubine’s quarters, Uruha noticed that Aoi was being uncharacteristically pensive.

“Are you alright?”

Aoi gave a quick nod. Something was definitely up. He turned to the younger man and observed him trying to figure out what it was he was thinking. His cheeks were still flushed from the previous activities, or maybe he was embarrassed. Uruha reached and lifted the other’s head up by placing a finger below his chin.

“Is it about what just happened in there?”

There was silence. The blond had a feeling Aoi was still feeling conflicted about it.

“Are you hurt?” 

Aoi quickly shook his head ‘no’. Uruha smiled to himself.

“Did you enjoy it?” He asked with a small smirk on his face. Aoi finally looked up at him, with the guiltiest look he’d seen in years.

“Yes...” The brunet looked down in shame and Uruha couldn’t help but pull him forward and hold him. “I’m sorry…” Aoi apologized as he hid his face in the crook of his best friend’s neck. 

“You don’t have to apologize, I liked it too.” Aoi pulled back to look at Uruha. “It’s okay to enjoy it. It doesn’t change anything for us. Watching you feel good, made it better for me too.”

“Me too! But I wanna try it just with you.”

“But we have done that.”

“It’s different. I want to enjoy it alone with you, too.” 

Uruha waited for a moment. He knew what Aoi meant. They’d had sex before but it had never been quite as intimate as this had been. It was usually hurried and never in a comfortable place. Taking a moment to bask in the afterglow was absolutely out of the question. Having had a taste of this peace Uruha, too, wished he could lay lazily after sex, maybe even have a moment to simply indulge in having Aoi in his arms as they fell asleep together. He wanted the same thing that Aoi wanted, but he knew that it was an impossibility so he wrote it off quickly. However, he could see that Aoi wasn’t ready to let it go so easily. 

“Aoi, listen to me.” Uruha placed his hands on either side of his counterpart’s face. “We didn’t choose to live like this. But here we are...alive. If I have to live my life on the run forever, I will, so long as I can have you with me. One day, we may not have to live in secret, or hide, or be constantly looking behind our backs. Maybe we won’t be together the way you want in this lifetime, but I promise you, my heart belongs to you. It always has and always will. So long as your heart beats, mine will too.” 

Aoi looked at Uruha and nodded. He knew he was right. It was a selfish thought. At least the emperor hadn’t been unkind as they had once feared. In fact, Kai had been nothing but kind and gentle, and both were even anxious to do it again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This are finally looking good for them.


	10. Two Truths and a Lie

When they returned to their sleeping quarters, as usual, the girls had lots to say. The two boys remained quiet while the other concubines threw all sorts of snide remarks their way. It was easy to ignore them, though, this time compared to the others. This was because they had a good experience with the emperor, and no longer feared the rumors repeatedly presented to them. In fact, they were looking forward to the next time. If anything, every time the girls offered a rude remark, instead of making the boys feel ashamed, it conjured up very clear memories of what had truly occurred and that made them hot about the collars.

Therefore, it was with only excitement that they received their next summons. It came relatively quickly after the first time, but, to Uruha and Aoi, it wasn’t soon enough. They entered Kai’s rooms and practically jumped him in their eagerness. Luckily, Kai only had that planned for the night and, after they were all lying in the emperor’s bed together, he confessed that he’d wondered if it hadn’t been too soon. The two concubines were easily able to assuage his fears though, Aoi saying, “anytime,” in an earnest tone as he lay on his belly looking over Uruha’s shoulders to properly relay his message. 

Kai couldn’t seem to help himself after that and attacked the brunet, leading to another of many rounds that night. After that, they were summoned by Kai nearly daily, spending their nights passed out in the emperor’s bed. 

It wasn’t all about sex, though, because many days Kai called them and began teaching them combat skills in addition to having them practice archery. He insisted it was because he needed to keep in shape but Uruha and Aoi got the feeling that he rather enjoyed teaching them things they had never previously been introduced to before, and this was not reserved for his fighting lessons. 

Oftentimes these things would take a turn away from what they were supposed to be about, all the touching and high energy leading them all into many very inappropriate situations on the palace grounds. These situations always led back to Kai’s chambers, sometimes not making it before some scandalized lady of the court caught them in odd little corners of the castle.

Aoi and Uruha broke all the barriers and rules that Kai was used to, making his life far more interesting, and he was lucky enough to witness many sides of them through their various encounters. The boys were gifted with a similar openness on Kai’s end, the emperor sharing far more than he ever had with any of the other people in his life. Kai knew that he still didn’t have the longevity of bond or closeness in the same way as Aoi and Uruha did with each other, but he believed that he was as close to them as anyone could be, given the short amount of time they had all known each other. 

They grew close enough that Aoi and Uruha began to spend days at a time with Kai, almost never returning to the concubine’s quarters. This had many positive results on the boys’ health. For the first time, it seemed they could let loose and just be themselves, and that seemed to be enough for the emperor. They wondered, during their idle hours, what they had ever feared about the emperor. 

With all the time they spent with Kai, Kodachi’s creepy behavior could easily be forgotten, and even the circumstances that had landed them in this situation in the first place seemed less pressing and important. Despite the many ways they found to distract themselves from learning, the boys were truly excited to work on the things that Kai was teaching them. It was nice to be learning something that felt less effeminate than what they’d needed to learn to become proper concubines. They were surprised to discover that they each had a knack for certain things.

Uruha had picked up archery from the get, surprising even himself about the ease with which he acquired the skill. Aoi, who was a terrible dancer to be sure, had never looked more graceful than when he held a katana and moved through the forms. Kai was impressed at the speed with which each of them learned and they were always hungry for more lessons. Their appetites were voracious in all ways, it turned out.

Life had never been better for the two concubines. It only seemed to take a turn when, one day, Uruha finally noticed the burn on Aoi’s leg.

The two were changing after a sparring session and, at first, the blond thought it was a bruise marring the lily-white skin of Aoi’s upper thigh, but he couldn’t remember hitting him there. So, as he stripped off his own arm guards, Kai waiting for them outside the armor depot, he asked him.

“Hey,” he began, Aoi turning to look at him in question, “what’s that?” The blond gestured toward the injury with his chin, looking pointedly at the burn. 

Aoi looked down and around at himself, searching for what the other was talking about. When he realized it was the burn, he quickly turned so Uruha couldn’t see it any longer. He had nearly forgotten about it as many weeks had passed and it had healed up beyond most of the pain that he had felt when he’d initially received it.

He shook his head. “It’s nothing.” Aoi put his shift over his head quickly, adjusting it to hide the burn when it fell over his legs. 

What previously had seemed a small matter, now made alarm bells ring in the blond’s head. Why would Aoi try to hide it?

The blond caught Aoi’s arm as he tried to add another layer of clothing, further concealing the wound. He turned to look directly at him, not caring that he was still only half-clothed.

“Aoi, what is it?”

The brunet tugged his arm back and slipped the next layer over his head. It got crumpled in his haste, catching halfway around his middle and giving Uruha the perfect opportunity to bend down and yank up the shift, revealing the scabbed-over burn in all its glory.

“Aoi, this is not nothing.” The blond quickly got down on his knees to inspect the wound. The scabs had flaked off in some parts, leaving behind blasted out circles that varied between light pink and white in their healing level.

Uruha grabbed his thigh with the hand that wasn’t holding up Aoi’s clothing as the other finally got the clothing to drop. “What happened to you? When did you get this?”

Aoi pulled his leg out of the blond’s grip and stepped back, letting his dress swish into place and cover the wound. “It’s nothing, just let it go, Uruha.”

Uruha stood up, suddenly angry. Why was Aoi trying so hard to hide this?

He asked, “Why don’t you just tell me, Aoi?”

The brunet didn’t have a good response to that, so he just stayed silent, opting to finish dressing instead. 

Uruha grabbed his arm when he was mid-motion to stop him, pulling him around to face him, eyes pleading.

“Please, just tell me what happened.”

Aoi couldn’t maintain his silence while looking into Uruha’s worried eyes and his resolve to not bring it up, crumbling in the face of the blond’s clear concern.

He sighed and began, casting his eyes down. “You know that time when we were separated?” Uruha nodded, hand slipping down the brunet’s arm to hold his hand instead. 

“Well...the matrons made me see that creepy guy again, without you.”

The blond’s grip on Aoi’s hand tightened. He hadn’t known that that had happened. 

“When I was there, he grabbed my leg, and I jumped.” Aoi grimaced in disgust, deciding to spare Uruha the gory details. He sighed and continued, “And anyway, hot soup spilled all over and some of it got on my leg. Don’t worry though,” Aoi looked up and grinned, “he got a pretty nasty burn on his arm too.”

Uruha’s grip on Aoi’s hand was becoming painful and he looked frantic.

“Anything else? Did he touch you anywhere else? Was that all that happened?” Uruha was desperate for answers and Aoi wished he could give him the reassurance he clearly needed, but he didn’t want to lie to the blond. 

“There was nothing else important,” he shrugged. “Look, Uruha, it was nothing, it wasn’t important.” He put his hand on top of the one holding his, stroking it with his fingers until Uruha’s grip loosened. “It’s all in the past now, anyway.”

Uruha squeezed his hand, not believing that for a second, torn between livid anger and being grateful that Aoi hadn’t been further harmed or molested by the dirty advisor. Uruha looked at Aoi whose pleading eyes stared back at him. Whatever it was that had happened with Kodachi, Aoi didn’t want to talk about it and it wasn’t right for the blond to force it out of him at this moment. He knew that. He was just having difficulty containing his anger over the situation. Uruha had also been called by the advisor but had managed to maintain his distance despite the man’s advances. 

Uruha pulled Aoi into himself, holding him as if he could protect him and undo whatever damage that had been done. 

“If he ever tries to lay a finger on you again, I need you to tell me.” 

Aoi nodded with his head on the blond’s shoulder, relieved that Uruha was finally letting it go. What was done was done, no point in thinking about it again. The situation could’ve been much worse, but thankfully it hadn’t gone too far. 

“He doesn’t deserve to touch any part of you.” Uruha kissed the top of Aoi’s head. “I hope we never have to see him again.” Aoi agreed with that thought, he never wanted to relive any of that.

Uruha took a deep breath and stepped away from the brunet to continue changing, calmer than before, though still unwilling to truly let it go. A short while later the two exited the building side by side and looked around them curiously. Kai had disappeared when he had been waiting for them just outside the door before.

It wasn’t thirty seconds though before they spotted him trotting down a mildly sloped hill towards them, waving with a smile. When he finally caught up with them he was beaming. 

“Sorry about that!” 

Aoi and Uruha shook their heads by way of waving off his apology, grinning back in response.

“What’s made you so happy?” They smiled in response, Uruha asking the question. 

“I just got done talking to my advisor, Kodachi. I have a lunch to go to after this and I’d like you to meet him! He’s a great man. He’s been there for me since I was a child. So?” Kai looked eagerly between them, smile dimming when he saw their expressions.

“That creep?” Aoi let the barb slip out before he could stop himself and Uruha’s eyes had turned positively frigid. 

Kai blinked, nonplussed. “Who’s a creep?”

Aoi shrugged and looked away. “Nobody.”

The emperor wasn’t going to allow that evasion though. If somebody was making any of his concubines feel uncomfortable, then he needed to know. 

“Aoi,” he probed gently, “who are you talking about?”

The brunet shrugged again, regretting saying anything. Uruha waited impatiently for Aoi to spill the beans but when the brunet kept looking uncomfortable and saying nothing, Uruha nudged him. 

“Just tell him.”

Aoi looked up at Uruha’s face, seeking assurance. He could see that the blond was still angry on his behalf, but also genuinely wanted this situation resolved.

“He can help us,” the blond prompted gently.

Kai looked between them, perplexed. 

“Listen, Aoi,” the emperor started, “if there’s someone in my ranks who is making inappropriate advances towards you, then I need to know, so I can take care of it.” He gently held Aoi’s arm, his palm a warm comfort, making the brunet feel more at ease. 

Aoi hesitated a moment longer, looking at Uruha again, who nodded encouragingly before he looked back and met the emperor’s eyes. 

“Well,” he paused, still hesitant, but gained enough courage from the touch still gently on his arm to continue, “it’s your advisor.” His eyes flicked down to his feet as he explained and then back up again to see Kai's reaction. He didn’t look angry, simply confused. 

“My advisor?” He repeated blankly. “You must be talking about a different one. What does he look like?”

“You know, kind of tall, thin, old, a little bent, a thinning mustache and goatee that looks like this.” He drew the lines on his own face with his fingers.

Kai still looked confused. It sounded like the exact advisor he had just met with, but that couldn’t be. The man was very loyal and respectful. Kai didn’t think he would do that to him, but he also didn’t want to believe that the boys were lying to him either. Maybe they were just confused, he thought. 

“And what has been going on with this advisor,” he asked, drawing his hand back from Aoi’s arm so he could fold it with the other one across his midsection.

Aoi looked to Uruha for support again before he looked back. “The matrons have been sending off concubines to see him one on one. When they get there, he offers them a way out of the concubine status. He promises money and security of status, saying that you’ll never pick any of us and, when you do, you’ll just as soon throw us away and make us nothing again.” Aoi shrugged again. “There’s a lot of…touching in his method of convincing,” he finished with a look of disgust.

Kai drew back, face closing off as he considered this new bit of information. He still didn’t think Aoi was lying to him, and the things he’d said did seem like something someone who wanted his concubines to themselves might say, but he still wasn’t sure that he believed that his advisor was the one who was doing it. He nodded to himself and looked back at the boys. 

“Ok, thank you for telling me. You don’t have to come with me to this meeting; it’s mostly going to be a bore, anyway. If you want, you guys can head back.”

Kai smiled and touched Aoi’s face, drawing his downcast eyes to him. “Don’t worry, I won’t let anything like that happen to you ever again.” He reached out to Uruha’s face as well, who closed his eyes and nuzzled into his palm. “To either of you.” He removed his hands and began unlacing his military-grade arm guards and walked toward the armor depot behind them. “I’ll call on you later,” he called over his shoulder, smiling as they watched him disappear into the vast room. 

Aoi turned to Uruha. “I’m not sure he believed me,” he frowned, studying Uruha’s face. 

The blond shook his head. “I don’t know either, but we’ve done what we can. For now, let’s just head back to our rooms. It’s been a few days so I’m sure they have plenty of stupid tasks lined up for us.” He rolled his eyes and began walking, Aoi falling into step beside him, silence between them as they walked.

Kai finished changing into his finery, unable to get his mind off what Aoi had said. He had no doubt that somebody he was unaware of had been seeing his concubines, the types of things they described were a little too on the nose for them to have made the whole thing up, and this left him to wonder who it could be. 

He knew the boys believed it to be Kodachi, and the man did seem to fit the description, but he supposed that description could fit any number of people in his court. It seemed he had some investigating to do. He wondered idly how many of his concubines had already been bought off, and, if this truly was happening, who was the matron that was facilitating it. 

He walked to the meeting he needed to attend lost in thought. He arrived there and did his best to pay attention to Kodachi as he spoke of the affairs of the kingdom that were relevant to how the emperor would rule. 

Once they had squared away the business, the food was delivered, and they began to eat and talk as they normally would. 

“So, what’s on your mind today, Emperor sama? You seem distracted.” The man took a bite out of his food and chewed, waiting for the emperor to respond. 

Kai shrugged, trying to be as natural as possible while dealing with this delicate issue. “I’ve heard some rumors lately that I don’t know whether to put stock into.”

Kodachi raised a brow. “Oh? Pray tell, on whom are these rumors centered?” He took another bite as Kai set down his chopsticks, meeting his eyes. 

“About you, actually.” 

The advisor blinked, appearing mildly surprised, and smiled genially. “Oh, and what do these rumors say?” He waved the hand holding his chopsticks as if inviting Kai to speak.

The emperor folded his hands together in his lap, facing Kodachi seriously. 

“They say that you’re having your pick of my concubines, tempting them with your full pockets and promises of status.”

The man leaned back and laughed, looking casual as ever. “Is that so?”

Kai nodded.

Kodachi set down his own chopsticks. “Did you hear that from those pretty girls you’ve been seeing lately?”

The emperor didn’t respond, choosing not to reveal their identities and feeling a twinge of suspicion due to Kodachi pinpointing his source immediately.

The man picked his chopsticks back up and continued eating. “You might want to be careful with them, Emperor sama. They might be trying to trick you into not seeing any of the other concubines because they’ve been used.” He shrugged and continued. “Seems to me those two have been stealing all your attention lately.” He pointed the ends of his chopsticks at the emperor, elbow on the table as he leaned forward. “I heard that you’ve even been late to a couple of gatherings lately, due to your, shall we say, dalliances.” The older man winked licentiously. 

Kai, again, didn’t respond again, looking faintly embarrassed. 

“Ah, well, don’t pay it any mind. Rumors will exist in every era about every empire.”

They finished up their meal making small talk. The emperor felt somehow reassured despite noting that he hadn’t really received any kind of direct denial from Kodachi. 

He still had a lot on his mind later that evening when he called the boys to him. They looked a little dirtier than usual and he could only assume they’d been made to do chores the moment they’d returned to their quarters. As a result of this, they all decided they should bathe and Kai was very easily distracted from his concerns.

This distraction carried on over the next few days as Kai seemed to suddenly forget important meetings and arrived late to them on more than one occasion. It had begun feeling like more of a burden than anything else for Kai to be away from the two for any prolonged length of time. They made him feel lighter, happier, and he missed that feeling when he parted from their company. 

One day, not long after the boys had revealed their secret about the advisor to the emperor, Kai was struck with a sudden inspiration. Thus far, he had been so focused on Kodachi possibly being a corrupt official that he hadn’t even thought to ask the matrons. 

If it were only one of the matrons dealing in this business, then it was possible the others wouldn’t know about it occurring, and, if it was all of them, he was likely to be locked out of the truth due to their solidarity. However, if Kai knew one thing about these women it was that they were quite petty and self-involved, so he felt fairly confident that, if he could just choose the right one, he might get the answers he was seeking. 

He spent the next few days in the concubines’ quarters. Aoi and Uruha were confused to see him there, but not unhappy about it as the tasks they would normally be completing had been postponed as a result of Kai’s presence. He didn’t tell them what he was doing there, and they didn’t ask. 

The matrons assumed that he was there to possibly choose a new concubine to entertain him, and did all they could to present each of the girls they felt were most valuable in the most flattering way possible. Aoi and Uruha sat quietly off to the side while Kai was surrounded by all the twittering monkeys giving him demure smiles. 

The way all the girls acted brought back the memories of the concubines he had taken prior to Aoi and Uruha and he was reminded of how hollow those relationships had been. It wouldn’t surprise him at all should the information conveyed by the boys turned out to be true, at least on the level that another was attempting to steal away his willing concubines. 

Despite how much he wanted to just watch Aoi and Uruha go about their tasks, interested to see what kind of fun they would bring to things that were normally not so entertaining, he tried to stay focused. Kai regularly reminded himself to focus, though, trying not to pay too much attention to Aoi during the time all the concubines sat at embroidery and he was creeping his fingers underneath the folds of Uruha’s kimono while staring at Kai in blatant invitation. 

When the blond noticed Aoi’s wandering fingers, he had looked over at the brunet to see him looking at Kai, whose attention had been stolen and was focused like a laser on the two boys. With a sultry grin, Uruha joined in, leaning closer to his brunet counterpart when nobody was looking to brush his lips over the back of his neck, watching Kai for a reaction. 

The emperor felt his body heat up and decided right then and there to take the boys out, unable to stop himself. That evening they each received ‘punishments’ befitting their crimes before they were sent back to the concubines’ quarters on wobbly legs, asses stinging but bodies buzzing with satisfaction.

The next day Kai continued his investigation, finally deciding he would ask the matron who seemed keen to keep his attention focused solely on Aoi and Uruha. She seemed to have a strange dislike for the head matron, Yamada san, that was usually chaperoning his fiance. 

He pulled her aside later that morning to question her. 

She introduced herself as Ito san, not daring to look him in the eye, and was all too happy to pass along the rumors she had heard. 

“I did hear there was money being funneled into a certain matron’s pockets. It was circulating that she was in some shady deal with,” she looked up at him and bowed, “forgive me, Emperor sama, but it was with one of royal rank who was paying her.”

“I’m not precisely sure what was being offered, but it can’t be anything good if there are rumors floating around about it. It might even be the girls…” she trailed off and then seemed to realize what she had said, her hand going to cover her mouth, eyes wide with fear as she looked at Kai. “But if I’d thought it was true I would have said so immediately, Emperor sama! We know the girls are only and always yours!” She dropped into the deepest of bows. 

He nodded and thanked her before leaving her to her own devices. 

This was a piece of evidence, albeit circumstantial, that what Aoi and Uruha had said may indeed be true. He still didn’t feel convinced it was his Kodachi who was doing the paying off, and he still wasn’t sure that Aoi and Uruha hadn’t just heard that rumor around and were leading him on. 

With a start, he realized he was late to a fertility ceremony he was supposed to attend with his fiance. He quickly reversed his direction, turning down another hallway in the maze that was a shortcut to his destination. The event was a time-sensitive one, he’d been told by the priests. There was a certain time of day that the fertility Gods favored. Kai both hoped he was too late and not, not wanting to incur the annoying wrath of his stepmother, but also not feeling that he really wanted to impregnate his fiance either. 

With that thought, he slowed his walk, suddenly feeling unhurried. Besides, he was the emperor. They had to wait for him, anyway. 

By the time he arrived the ceremonial rites needed to be gone through in half the time they normally took. Privately, Kai was glad. Maybe this would make the ritual worthless, and he got to be uncomfortably seated for far less time than he had originally thought he would have to suffer through. 

After the ceremony had ended, Kai’s fiance vied for his attention and he granted it. He didn’t particularly like the simpering woman, but he didn’t want to be rude either. He had quite enough on his mind without making a woman cry.

“Emperor sama,” she began hesitantly, playing at being sweet as Kai knew she most definitely was not, “I’ve hardly seen you lately. And today, of all days, you were running late. I’m beginning to think,” a tear forming at the corner of one of her eyes, “that you don’t want to marry me.”

Kai chuckled, shifting uncomfortably. She wasn’t wrong, but he didn’t want to tell her that. 

“And all that time you’ve been spending with those other girls…” she trailed off and shook her head, before picking the thread back up in a whisper, “I’m beginning to fear they’ll get pregnant before we have even consummated our marriage.”

Kai couldn’t hold the laugh back at that. Little did she know that her fears were completely unfounded. 

Her face flashed with consternation before settling back into a teary-eyed expression. “What’s so funny, Emperor sama?” Her tone of voice, though, she seemed unable to change. 

“Nothing, nothing,” he defended lightly, still smiling, “do go on.”

She looked at him suspiciously before continuing. “Well, you do spend most of your time with them, and-” she broke off before lowering her voice even further, “I’ve heard a rumor that you’ve been seen in the halls playing with them in that way.” She paused to gauge his reaction before continuing. “But, I told them, I said ‘there’s absolutely no way the emperor would ever engage in such uncouth behavior. It would give all of us a poor reputation so he wouldn’t do something like that’. Isn’t that right, Emperor sama?” 

By the end of her line of questioning her tone had become quite hard, her face no longer holding the same softness as before. Kai recognized manipulation when he saw it and almost rolled his eyes. This was the reason he found all those noble concubines so very untrustworthy. They could turn their emotions on and off at the drop of a hat. Uruha and Aoi were a breath of fresh air in his stale world. 

“Well, as I am the emperor, I don’t think it’s any of anybody else’s business to judge what I’m doing. Isn’t that right?” 

“O-of course not!” His fiance stuttered, head bowing.

Kai had suddenly had enough of the whole affair and needed out, now. He bid adieu to the nobles that were in attendance, his stepmother now standing by his fiance, who was looking sour. 

As he swept down the hallway back to his room he couldn’t help thinking that, despite her approach, maybe she was right. He did spend an awful lot of time with Aoi and Uruha, and, as a result, sometimes his behavior was less than royal. He couldn’t seem to help himself when it came to the boys. First, his advisor and now his fiance and, by extension, stepmother were telling him that he was doing something wrong. 

That, combined with his struggle to understand what was going on under his nose with his concubines had him fed up. Could he trust what the boys had said? How did he know? Where had they even come from? The other concubines called them country hicks, no names. Maybe they really were just trying to use him to get some rank and power, somehow. 

He walked into his room and sat at his desk, debating these things for a good ten minutes before Aoi’s voice echoed in his memory.

“You’re the emperor...just ask!”

Kai nodded to himself. It had been sound advice then and he would take it again now. Within minutes he’d sent the call out for the two to come to him. They arrived within the hour, looking curious but so open and trustworthy that Kai felt some of his suspicions just melt away. Maybe that was part of the problem.

They entered his bedroom without hesitation these days, and he directed them to sit on his bed after they had each greeted him with smiles that morphed into concern when they saw the furrow of his brow.

“Is everything ok, Kai?” Aoi asked, leaning forward from where he was seated so he could look down at Kai, still sitting at his desk. 

The emperor looked up, a small smile on his lips at the sweet question and the concerned looks of both his two favorite concubines, nay, favorite people. He stood with a sigh and walked over to join them, sitting down beside them as Uruha rearranged himself so he could look directly at the emperor, crossing his legs when he sat in the middle of the bed. Aoi stayed on the edge, peering intently at Kai. 

The emperor was hesitant to start this conversation, not wanting to put the boys off from talking to him after the fact, not wanting to damage any trust they had developed over the past months of being together. But he had to know. 

He hesitated for a few long moments before he felt a warm hand on his arm. Uruha had reached forward, holding onto him to give him strength. Kai smiled gratefully at him. 

“You may not be ready to talk about this,” Kai looked down at Uruha’s hand resting on his arm and then up at the boys, “but I need to know. How did you come to be in the castle? And the concubines’ quarters? As concubines?”

It took a moment, but Uruha withdrew his hand and Kai’s heart twisted at the action. The two concubines were looking at each other, obviously deciding whether to tell him. Kai would allow them this small comfort. He knew it must have been something big for them to have gone to all the trouble of hiding the way they had. 

Their silent communication didn’t take long before Aoi reached out, taking hold of his fist which had balled upon his knee, and gently straightening the digits out so he could hold it properly. 

“Alright, we’ll tell you. You have to hear us out all the way to the end, ok? It’s very important you wait until the end before saying anything.”

Kai gripped Aoi’s hand gently, nodding. 

So it was that they began their tale.

Aoi did most of the talking, Uruha interjecting when he thought it was pertinent. Aoi began by informing Kai that when they were quite young, they had seen something they were never meant to see. They told him of their first guardian after their parents had passed in an accident, of how he helped them escape the strangers who were hunting them down.

Aoi told Kai of how their guardian had left them at the ramshackle shack on the outskirts of the palace, of how they’d been expected to work in the kitchens and how they found out about their original guardian’s untimely death. They talked about how the bounty hunter in the castle was searching for them. 

Kai was following so far, keeping his mouth closed despite his mounting questions. That bounty hunter had been in the castle looking for two boys directly after he was suddenly saddled with the responsibility of becoming emperor. Even as young as he had been at the time, he could remember that. But, if the bounty hunter was after them, exactly what had the boys seen? It couldn’t be what he was thinking, he refused to believe it. 

Then, they told him of how the clever kitchen worker had decided to use his own daughter’s old clothing to disguise the boys as girls in the nick of time, saving them from a certain fate had they been lined up as little boys. 

They had worked for so long in women’s clothing that by the time Ito san noticed them, randomly offering them a step up the ladder, they were already known as full-blown girls around the castle. They decided to accept the matron’s offer because, they figured, it would take them even further away from public view and from the possibility of being discovered.

“Because, you know, concubines almost never see the emperor and we were boys for crying out loud!” He laughed. “We had the least chance of all.”

“And then, you know, you somehow found us and here we are.” Aoi ended his story with a shrug. “Oh! You can talk now.”

Kai grinned, despite his swirling thoughts, before asking a question.

“And, what was this event you witnessed?”

Aoi and Uruha looked, once more, at each other. 

“Well, you see, what it is…” Aoi looked desperately at Uruha. He didn’t want to be the one to tell Kai about his father’s death.

The blond cleared his throat, taking over. “What we witnessed,” he paused, putting his knees up in front of his chest and wrapping his arms around them before looking directly at Kai again, “was the emperor’s assassination by,” he swallowed as he watched Kai’s expression tear open, revealing all the pain and confusion his words had just caused, grateful that the emperor had managed to stay silent through it all, “your advisor.”

The door to Kai’s emotional torment seemed to seal off with that, his face lost all forms of expression whatsoever, his hand going slack between Aoi’s tightly squeezing ones.

It was a long moment before any of them spoke and it was Uruha who broke the silence. He reached out and touched the emperor’s still limp arm gently with his fingertips.

“Kai,” he looked into the emperor’s closed off face with furrowed brows, “are you ok?”

Kai twitched his limb away from the touch, pulling his hand back from the brunet, and turned from staring vacantly into nothing to looking directly at the two concubines.

“I need to be alone,” he said softly, not moving another inch from the position he was in.

Aoi made to reach out for the emperor again but Uruha held him back, both walking down the steps, glancing over their shoulders repeatedly. They both wanted, needed, Kai to be alright, but they both knew they had no business defying the emperor’s orders and that they were probably about the last people he wanted to see after that. 

They returned to the concubines’ quarters, their concern the only thing they could focus on as they completed their nightly ritual.

“Oooohh, you’re back early.” It was Sakura. “Must be the emperor’s sick of you, with the way you look.”

The comment didn’t slide off as easily as the girls’ remarks usually did, and the two of them went to bed but didn’t sleep a wink the whole night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cat's out of the bag!


	11. The Price of Honesty

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the truth is out. Now we wait on Kai’s response.

Kai dropped his head into his hands as all the thoughts he’d suppressed in the boys’ presence flooded his mind. He was grateful he was alone to sort this all out. Could Uruha and Aoi really be telling the truth? If they were, then how long had he been manipulated by the man he had trusted for so long with his life? If they weren’t, what could they possibly get out of lying to him about this sort of thing? If they were then how could they hold such information back for so long?

The side of his fist crashed down on the desktop and he shook his head vigorously. No! No. They wouldn’t lie and how were they supposed to present it to him? What were they supposed to have done? Come up to him when they barely knew him and say ‘oh, by the way, Emperor sama, we know who killed your dad, have a nice day?’ 

The way they told it, they didn’t even know about the positions of any of his advisors until recently and what if Kai had automatically assumed they were lying? He would have had them locked away until he was certain they were telling the truth if he didn’t know them, and, during that time, who’s to say what would have happened to them? 

It seemed that the bounty hunter all those years ago had, in fact, been after them from the start. If anyone in Kai’s royal court had discovered them, the boys would have been handed over without question. He had been told that the bounty hunter was there to find who had murdered his father, not that they were on the hunt for two helpless children. 

Kodachi had ordered everyone to cooperate while Kai took time to himself to deal with the loss of his father and the new burden being set upon his too-young shoulders. He wouldn’t have known better, anyway. All his instruction had come from Kodachi. Now, these boys that had come into his life such a short time ago, were throwing off all his perceptions about everything he knew and understood of his own past. 

He wanted to believe them, but he just couldn’t. He couldn’t see that they would gain anything from telling him something like this. Was Kodachi right? Did they really just want to climb the social ladder as far as they could and think that this was a sure way to gain his trust? His mind rejected that idea, too. He shook his head. They were too pure, too unguarded, for him to see that in them. He’d never encountered anyone else like the two.

Everybody in his court seemed to have an angle. If anything, with the way they behaved, it seemed the boys never had any intention of leaving their positions as concubines. They’d done all the wrong things if their goal was truly just to move up in rank. There were easier ways, like the way other concubines had been recommended to Kai by matrons or consorts had been suggested to him by noble families. The way his fiance was chosen by his stepmother because they both had the ambition to control the throne and his stepmother thought she could control his fiance enough to rule vicariously through her. 

He knew of and had seen all sorts of power-hungry schemes. He prided himself on being able to see through these ploys, even when well hidden. But if that were the case, who was he being deceived by? Was it Kodachi, who had been there for him when his father passed and had no hope of moving any further up in his court without a very serious coup, or was it his concubines, who might just be extremely talented liars, and managed to place all the blame on his most trusted ally, Kodachi, with their skills in deception?

The second seemed far more logical, he had to admit. Aoi and Uruha obviously had many people that believed in them on their side to have gotten this far and they each had much more room for social mobility than Kodachi. Still, Kai didn’t want to believe that. He’d seen honesty in their eyes, even now, when they had told him about what they had seen while holding him as if afraid he might break. He thought he’d encountered truth in its purest form in the two boys, despite their gender deception, and he didn’t want to lose that. 

Kai’s head spun with questions and he sat at his desk long after he had dismissed the concubines, so wrapped up in his own thoughts that he didn’t even notice the hours passing. The same questions cropped up over and over again, and he couldn’t make up his mind.

He heard the floorboards outside his room creek in the silence, startling him out of his deep concentration. His quarters had only nightingale flooring, to protect him. Whoever had entered certainly wasn’t supposed to be there. 

Kai turned in his seat to look around him carefully. His bedroom door, which his concubines had closed behind them, was still closed and he didn’t hear another sound. Had he just imagined it? He looked around his room carefully, searching the long shadows cast by the flickering light of the candles on his desktop. He stood up carefully and quietly; he didn’t believe his senses had deceived him, no matter the hour.

The emperor had stood up not a moment too soon as his door slid silently open, a shadow passed in front of the lit doorway and paused a moment, seeming to realize the situation. Then, a figure charged through with a yell that could wake the dead. The man was in armor, wearing a mask, and wielding a katana.

Kai was grateful for his quick reflexes as he dropped down under the swing of the sword just in time, the loose ends of his hair getting neatly sliced off as the sharpened blade passed over his head. The man didn’t stop there, kicking out at the emperor while he was crouched, trying to knock him off balance as he pulled his katana back. 

Kai dodged, his years of combat training kicking in. Once he regained his feet, Kai moved to dispatch his opponent, cursing when his heavy robe hindered his movements and caused him to have to jump back, avoiding the swing of the sword that sliced the trailing sleeve of his robe like butter. 

Thankfully, the man wasn’t as fast as Kai, and, when the emperor spotted an opening, he took it. He hooked his foot around the man’s ankle, tripping him up as both of his arms were thrown to one side after another failed attempt to slash Kai’s front. 

Seeing his opportunity, Kai quickly grabbed the man and disarmed him, holding him down as he yelled for his guards. Curiously, after all the noise, commotion, and shouts for their attention, neither of his guards came. Kai quickly gave up on that route, assuming they had been knocked out or killed by this assassin. 

With that in mind, Kai spared no worry when he slammed the man’s head into the floor, immediately knocking him out so that he could free up his hands and go inspect the situation. Kai grabbed the man’s fallen katana and walked out of his room, still on guard, casting his eyes about the anteroom that adjoined his bedchamber. He quickly made his way through, seeing nobody, and flung open the door to his room. 

As he suspected, outside the doors he found the lifeless bodies of the guards that had been assigned to his quarters that evening. The assassin must have been able to successfully sneak upon them. 

Kai walked quickly out his door and down a nearby hallway. He exited his wing and almost immediately encountered more guards as they patrolled. They accompanied him back to his rooms, finding the other guards and then the assassin, still out cold, on his bedroom floor. The guards quickly removed the assassin, who had yet to so much as twitch, fetching more guards, who Kai sent to search the grounds and be sure to clear the castle of threats. Kai’s personal guards were stationed on all the entrances to his wing thereafter.

Despite the increased security, Kai still didn’t sleep the remainder of that evening. His head was spinning with even more questions. He didn’t know if the assassin had to do with him or the concubines or both. Could the killer have been sent not just for Kai but also for Aoi and Uruha? It was known that they would be in his rooms this evening by far too many people and Kai couldn’t be sure of the assassin’s goal. 

Either way, Kai’s life was endangered and it might have something to do with his concubines or his advisor, the assassination attempt having occurred directly after the two had revealed their secret to him and not long after he had spoken to Kodachi about the accusations leveled at him. The report came to him a few hours later that this assassin appeared to be the only one in the castle, but Kai had more security measures taken anyway. In the meantime, he went to where the guards were detaining the assassin; he had some questions for the man that could not wait.

He spent the remainder of the night interrogating the man. The assassin told nothing, in the end biting off his tongue and committing suicide. Kai cringed at the memory. Whatever information the assassin was hiding was obviously important enough to warrant such an action. 

Everything seemed to be happening at once, leaving the emperor completely confused. Was this, as Aoi and Uruha had warned him, an attack by Kodachi? If so, what were the chances that the boys were in danger? If not, it was obviously not random and Kai had a lot of work to do to find out who his enemies were.

In the meantime, he needed to keep Aoi and Uruha safe and away from anyone that could harm them, or, in turn, that they could bring harm to. He didn’t want to believe that they’d strung him along up to this point and he didn’t know what they were capable of, but he saw no viable option other than to take precautions against such a possibility.

Kai wasn’t sure what the best approach would be but thought that he should put them somewhere separate from everyone else. After a meeting with his advisors about a summit that had just been called for all the kingdoms under his rule, the emperor carefully selected one of his advisors, Yamamoto san, and pulled him aside. Yamamoto san was an advisor he thought might have less association with Kodachi, whom he was now highly suspicious of, and assigned him a task.

“I have to get ready for my trip but I need something taken care of while I’m away. Please see to it that the concubines Uruha and Aoi, whom I’ve spent a great deal of time with lately, are removed from the concubine’s quarters and placed into a separate room in the palace. See that they are cared for and protected in my absence.”

Yamamoto bowed low. “As you wish, Emperor sama.”

The man set out immediately to carry out his orders, not noticing the beady eyes of Kodachi following him.

Kai left the room, heartened that while he was away Uruha and Aoi would be safe if another assassin came through.

\-----------------------------------

The next morning saw Uruha and Aoi rising early and beginning their day with the sort of silence that was so oppressive that even the other concubines only dared comment about it amongst themselves. They waited without much hope for Kai to call on them, attending to their duties with half-hearted attention. When in each other’s company they exchanged almost no words, as if voicing their fears would make them more real. 

Had they angered the emperor? If so, what did this mean for them? Did Kai even believe them, or did he think they were mistaken or, worse still, lying? Would he ever call on them again? The thought that he might not, made them sad. They hoped that wasn’t the case, but never expected what actually did happen.

Around midday, when all the concubines were gathered for lunch, two guards strode in the doors and walked directly to the matron overseeing them. All eyes were on them as speculating whispers broke out around the room. The matron’s eyes widened as she spoke to the guards, looking frightened. She said something and the guards turned away from the matron and then began quickly stepping towards their table. Aoi and Uruha looked at each other, panicked as they put down their chopsticks, the guards coming nearer. 

Neither of them had the time to even stand, or notion to fight, as the burly men stepped up to them, meaty fingers grasping their thin arms firmly and pulling them to their feet. The men weren’t gentle, but they weren’t brutal either. 

“You need to come with us,” the one holding Aoi intoned and the two guards frog-marched out of the room with the boys in tow. Suspicious whispers turned into full-blown chatter as they left the room, Uruha following Aoi. The brunet looked over his shoulder at the blond, his eyes conveying the fear both of them felt. They must have really pissed Kai off. 

They were shoved a bit too forcefully through a door in a wing of the castle they’d only visited once before, when they’d met Kai’s stepmother. The room was lit by only candles as there were no windows. There was a single, fluffy, futon on the floor. 

The guards left without saying anything further and the boys didn’t hear them walk away. They were obviously meant to be posted at the door. 

They looked at each other in confusion. What was going on? Aoi stomped over to the door and slid it open forcefully, poking his head out to look at one of the guards, who was surprisingly close. He pulled his head back a little as the tall man looked down at only his head poking out the door. 

“What’s going on? Why are we here?”

The guard turned to face him. “Please return to your room, madam, before I have to force you.”

Aoi bristled, feeling feisty as he took a step forward before Uruha grabbed his arm and dragged him back. The blond stepped forward, ignoring Aoi’s protests from the room behind him where he’d fallen on his butt onto the futon. 

“We’re very sorry, we’ll stay here quietly.” The blond gave a short bow and closed the door, retreating back into the room and sinking down onto the futon next to Aoi. The brunet sat up and frowned at Uruha, crossing his arms.

“How else are we supposed to get answers,” he asked sulkily.

Uruha shook his head vehemently. “How about we try not getting ourselves into a worse situation?”

Aoi didn’t respond, opting instead to slump down to the bed, exasperated.

It took no more than a few hours for the panic to fade and the boredom to set in. They knew they wouldn’t figure out Kai’s intentions by repeatedly discussing the same possibilities and so the conversation down that route died off quickly.

The two couldn’t think of anything to do and each time one of them rose to pace around the room the other’s panic began to press in. So, they were sprawled across the futon, hair fanned out and heads together when their door slid quietly open and someone entered. 

The two sat up quickly, hearts racing with hope.

“Ka-” Aoi spoke loudly before cutting himself off abruptly when he saw not the emperor, as he’d hoped, but a woman, “...or not,” he completed his thought quietly.

The woman who had entered was none other than Kai’s stepmother. The two stared for a moment before she raised a fine brow at them and they realized their error. They quickly stood and bowed.

“Your ladyship,” Uruha said before rising from his bow to stand tall, “to what do we owe the honor?”

The boys waited silently for a moment as a sinister smile unfurled across the woman’s regal face, her eyes narrowing in malice as she took a few more steps into the room. She looked over the room and then back at them. 

“Congratulations,” she began, “you’ve done it.” 

They looked at each other, confused, then back to her as she continued.

“My stepson seems to have finally gotten the message about you. You’ve been a very big distraction for him, I’ll give you girls that. Though,” she paused again, eyeing them contemptuously, “I can’t understand why he would be interested in either of you in the first place.”

Aoi and Uruha bristled at the words but stayed silent.

She seemed disappointed they hadn’t risen to her bait, but brushed it off to carry on. “No matter! It seems you’ve taken care of the issue. You would never have produced any decent heirs for the throne anyway, so it’s best that this stupid little attempt to usurp my choice of empress ends now.”

Aoi and Uruha fought hard not to laugh, finally realizing what this woman’s animosity had been about from the start. 

“Instead, my choice will take the throne and I will have more power and influence over this land than either of you could have ever dreamed to achieve. So, thank you for fumbling your attempt, you’ve saved me all the effort of having you removed.”

Uruha and Aoi leaned back where they stood, suddenly feeling confident and relaxed. She’d never been aware of their true secret; she was just a woman vying for power that wasn’t hers. 

Aoi snorted, dropping the respectful act altogether. “Like Kai would let you claw your way to any power, anyway.”

“We are closer to him than you’ve ever been,” Uruha added.

To their surprise, the woman’s smile only widened at that. 

She shook her head and raised a finger, rocking it back and forth in front of them as she spoke. “Ah, ah, ah.” She reached forward and tapped Uruha on the tip of his nose, smile still firmly in place. “Were.”

She turned and walked back out the door in with a fluttering laugh, stealing any of the feelings of triumph that the boys might have had with that response. She paused in the entryway, turning to address the guards.

“If any food is delivered here, be sure not to let it get to them. It’s been decided that they should fast so they can retain their figures for the emperor.” She turned to look at them maliciously over her shoulder as their mouths fell open before the door was closed behind her. 

The boys sat back on the futon, seething over that last bit of foul play. They were silent for a few long moments before Uruha began to talk.

“She’s right, you know.” He turned to Aoi, looking him in the eyes as he carried on. “We may have truly destroyed whatever bond we had forged with him.”

They were silent for a moment, each considering that. They’d both been thinking it but this confrontation with Kai’s stepmother had brought the fears they’d been desperately burying in denials to the forefront of their minds. Not only did they not know what was going to happen to them, Kai was angry at them for something they couldn’t help, or maybe because they held onto the information for so long, and he might want nothing to do with them anymore. 

It was a testament to how much their attachment had grown that the thought left them with a hollow ache in their hearts. They hadn’t wanted to acknowledge that this may be the case, and neither of them could bring themselves to speak of it any further. It was bad enough that the thought was lurking in their mind. They would much prefer to keep it quiet, as if that would make it an impossibility. 

But, as the silence of the windowless room pressed in on them, they couldn't help but think that this was definitely the case and they’d somehow mutilated their new bond beyond repair. 

They spent the rest of the evening in near silence, hearing the food delivery be refused through the closed paper door of their chamber and hearing their stomachs growl in response. Well, it wasn’t the first time they’d been hungry, and the best way to combat it was always sleep. So, the two drifted off into a fitful slumber.

\--------------------------------------------------------

As Aoi and Uruha sank into a deep sleep, Kodachi prowled the palace halls until he reached the room he was looking for. He knocked, and, when allowed in, bowed as he entered. 

“Ah, Kodachi, what brings you here this evening?”

Kodachi gave the other man an oily smile. “Oh, I just heard of your plight. You must be absolutely swamped with those reports on the landslide that happened a few days ago. How do you even have time for that other task the emperor assigned you?”

Yamamoto san laughed genially. “Too right you are,” he replied, “I am very busy! But, I’m managing, somehow.”

“Well,” Kodachi took a few steps closer, “I’ve come to offer my assistance.”

Yamamoto san looked at him for a moment before turning back to the report. “Oh, don’t trouble yourself! I’m sure I’ve handled more than this before.”

Kodachi gave a fleeting frown before he could compose his expression and nodded, trying a different tact. “I understand, of course you’re more than capable. It’s just, I haven’t anything to do and I was hoping I could help take a load off. Let me take care of those girls. I hate to feel like the only one of us who isn’t working.”

Yamamoto san laughed again. “Well, if you feel so strongly about it, you can take them off my hands. I’ve had the guards put them in an empty room in the west wing. The head of the royal guard knows the details; you can just ask him.”

Kodachi bowed. “Thank you, friend. I really needed this.” 

Yamamoto san smiled. “No, thank you, I really could use a bit less on my plate!”

Kodachi bowed again and saw himself out, barely suppressing his sinister smile until he made it out the door. Things were going exactly to plan.

\-----------------------------------

Aoi and Uruha were awakened by light flooding in through the open door of the room they had been confined to. They weren’t terribly disoriented as their sleep had been so lightly, but they were surprised when not one but many guards came through the door and grabbed them roughly, pulling them from the futon with excessive force. 

The two immediately began to struggle against the hands that held them. Seeing the other handled in a similar manner drove them to more violent struggles, and they kicked out, waving their elbows around to get the men to drop them. Uruha planted a bony elbow into the gut of the guard holding him and managed to break away for a second as the man gasped in pain and released him.

“Aoi!” He reached out for the brunet, but only managed to run two steps before he was snatched up again by two new guards, his fingertips barely brushing against Aoi’s outstretched ones before he was yanked back off his feet. 

In the next moment the blond was unable to see a thing, a cloth bag enveloping his whole head. He struggled more as he heard Aoi cry out but didn’t know where to aim and only succeeded in getting himself held more securely in the guards’ grips. 

“Move,” came the command.

A moment later, one of the guards pushed his back and he stumbled forward as they began to half drag him along with them. They walked along quickly, though not very far, Uruha turning his head this way and that to try to see anything through the cloth obscuring his vision. He breathed hard as the adrenaline rushed through him.

He could hear the sound of Aoi still struggling with the guards holding him before there was a particularly heavy thump and he heard the brunet retch.

“Don’t hurt Aoi!” Uruha yelled and renewed his own struggles before he unexpectedly felt himself lifted and a sudden weightless sensation. In the next moment he had crashed hard into something solid, knocking the air out of him. In a daze from the sudden loss of air, he was pliant as his hands were pulled behind him and a rough rope was tied around them. 

A moment later he heard another loud crash, followed by a sharp gasp and a stream of curses that were definitely from Aoi. He shuffled closer to the voice, his knees dragging against wooden boards as he made his way.

“Aoi? Aoi, is that you? Are you hurt?”

“Uruha?” Aoi’s response came from nearby and the blond desperately wished he could see the brunet, to ensure he was alright. 

“It’s me,” he answered breathlessly. He heard what sounded like a stable door slamming and lock sliding into place before he was nearly knocked over by the sudden motion of the floor underneath them. The clip clop of horses hooves could not be mistaken. They must have been thrown into a wagon of some sort. 

A moment later, he lost his balance completely, shoulder catching on something cool and hard. Metal. It appeared they were in some sort of moving prison.

“Are you tied up?”

Aoi nodded but then remembered that neither of them could see. “Yes.”

Uruha was quiet for a moment, considering. “I think we are in a cage of some sort. We should check if there are any openings. 

Aoi nodded again, and then said, “Okay, I’ll see what I can feel on the wall behind me and you do the one behind you.” The brunet shuffled backwards until he hit the wall, feeling around with his bound hands as best he could while Uruha did the same on the opposite side.

The two of them worked their way slowly around the perimeter, catching their balance every so often, feeling the bars and the wooden floor but no weaknesses. 

Once they’d both become convinced that there was no exit, they felt their fear deepen with their inability to take action. They sat huddled close together in one corner of the wagon that was taking them who knew where, each other’s presence the only small comfort they could take in their current situation. 

After what felt like hours, the two were able to pick up the conversation of the drivers over the rumble of wheels over the ground.

“Wonder why they’re taking them here? This place hasn’t been used since the last emperor.”

There was a pause and the two could assume that the other driver was shrugging. 

“Well, I guess it’s none of our business anyway. We just do as commanded. I’m starving, did you bring any food? It’s gonna be a long ride…”

They trailed off after that and Aoi and Uruha stopped listening, becoming suddenly aware that they were also hungry, cold, and tired. The adrenaline draining out of them made them exhausted but they were still so on edge that there was absolutely no chance of them falling asleep. 

The ride was indeed very, very long, and no stops were made until they reached their destination. Aoi and Uruha were once again led by rough hands forcing them to walk without seeing where they were going. They stumbled down some stairs, Uruha tripping once, knee cracking hard against the stone steps they were on as he tried to catch himself but didn’t really manage. When he stood up he was pushed forward abruptly and his ankle twisting painfully as the toe of his planted foot caught in a crack.

He cried out in pain. Aoi lurched towards him at the sound, but was held back by his own guard. 

The guards dragged the blond back up again, this time keeping an actual hold on him as they continued until they reached the bottom of the stairs. They each were pushed roughly forward, the guards following until they stopped them. Large hands pulled at the bottom of the material covering both their heads, freeing up their sight. A moment later their wrists were released as well, the two concubines taking in their new surroundings as the guards stepped out, slamming a barred iron door into place behind them. 

They were in some sort of dungeon, the stone floors were dirty and wet, water dripping down the stone walls and leaving everything damp. The only light came from the small, high windows in the wall across the hallways from their barred door. There was no place to go to the bathroom, there were no shelves, and the whole hall was completely silent. Only the wind that seemed to whistle through unseen cracks made any noise. As far as they could tell, they were alone.

Each of them checked the firmness of the iron bars, noting that there wasn’t much rust anywhere to be seen. The bars blocking them from exiting appeared to have no weaknesses and their cell had no windows to even dream of attempting to crawl through. 

Aoi slumped down a wall as dawn began to break, completely spent now that all the adrenaline initially pumping through him had settled. It was the only dry corner in the cell but still cold since they were clearly underground. Uruha limped over to where Aoi sat on the ground, now feeling the ache on his injured ankle, and slid down the wall next to him. The younger man leaned his head on the blond’s shoulder, as he normally did, finding Uruha’s height ideal and comfortable. Or, at least as comfortable as he could be in a dungeon. Uruha raised his arm over Aoi’s shoulders to try to shelter him from the cold.

They had thought that Kai was angry at them, even assuming that he might never even look in their direction again, but this punishment seemed far out of character for the emperor. Would he really allow anybody to be imprisoned here, let alone his two favorite concubines? Judging by the silence from the surrounding cells, the two didn’t think so. 

Kai wasn’t that type of person. They supposed he could have only forgiven them from hiding their sex from him simply because he wanted to get in their ‘pants’, but they doubted it. What they knew of the emperor was that he was soft, sweet, and a monster in bed. It wasn’t that they thought he couldn’t be authoritative if he wanted to, but he wasn’t cruel.

And cruel is what this punishment was. Sleep finally took over and subdued Aoi enough to rest his head on the blond’s lap. Eventually Uruha, too, gave in as nothing could be done about their situation, and dropped to the opposite side, using Aoi’s body to rest upon. It was not comfortable, but at least body heat would not be wasted, each finding solace in knowing that they, at least, had each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 😭😭😭😭


	12. An Offer You Can’t Refuse

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy valentines! Here’s some not so romantic stuff for you. Not a very good valentines gift is it? I’m sorry!!!

They saw no one for the first three days they were there. On the third day, water and a crust of bread were delivered to each of them. Their strength was waning, so they devoured the little food there was, but tried to preserve the water, not knowing how long it would be before the next rations arrived for them. 

It turned out, they needn’t have worried about preserving the water, as this same ration was brought to them once a day, after that. They weren’t sure how long they could survive off such a small amount of food, but their complaints and questions were soundly ignored by the person who brought their daily allotment of food and water.

A week into the time spent in their new situation, they had a visitor. The boys were unsurprised to see that it was not Kai, but Kodachi. He swept into the dungeon in all his finery, walking to their cell and staring at them, his face alight with false shock.

“Oh no,” he put a hand over his heart, “what kind of poor conditions are these? This is not fit for the lowest of traitors, let alone concubines or your stature!” He shook his head, face almost comically fraught with distress. “How could the emperor leave you in a place like this?” He gestured broadly at them. “When I heard you two were in here I just had to come see you! I thought that, perhaps, my presence might offer you some solace in this dark time.”

The two didn’t respond, looking suspiciously at him from the darkened depths of their cell, Uruha half blocking Aoi with his body. 

When they didn’t speak, Kodachi carried on as if he hadn’t been waiting for an answer. “Well, I never imagined a place as wretched as this but I did think that you might be in someplace less than palatable, as the emperor was very angry, so I brought you something of my own accord. You mustn’t tell anyone, though, or it won’t be able to happen again.”

With that, he walked to the stairs, picking up a tray laden with food. Aoi’s eyes sparkled in want at the sight, the two walking forward, eyeing the meal intently. The advisor smiled to himself as he handed the tray through the slot in the bars. Their waiting hands quickly snatched the tray from his and they didn’t hesitate to dive in, unable to hold back after only four bread crusts a piece for the last week. 

Kodachi eyed them in disgust for a moment before his face changed back to one of sympathy.

“Have they been feeding you at all,” he cried dramatically. “I’ll see if I can help you a little further, but I must take my leave. I’ve already stayed too long.”

As if suddenly remembering their manners, the two stood and bowed deeply, grateful for the food that had been brought despite not trusting this man’s motives.

He left quickly after that, but, true to his word, the next day, instead of their typical bread crust and water, they received cold miso soup and a full roll with their water. The two were once again grateful, though they doubted that Kai would have punished them by depriving them of food. He had seemed so very concerned about their eating habits when they lived with the concubines, often plying them with food when they were in his presence. 

More likely, Kai just wasn’t aware of the condition in which he had placed them. However, the seeds of doubt had been planted and were growing the longer they spent deprived of their basic needs. That didn’t mean, though, that the two were any closer to trusting the advisor. If nothing else, they were certain that he killed the previous emperor, and that alone made him untrustworthy. 

Mercifully, over the next few days, they were delivered the larger ration of food daily. While still nearly unbearably hungry, with this they didn’t think they would starve. The dungeon was still damp and dark enough that it was hard to keep track of the days, though, and the two were never let out of their cell. 

The guard that delivered their food only showed up once a day and said nothing to them while handing over the trays. The only human interaction the two had, came from themselves. They drew comfort from that, curling up with each other to ward off the cold that started to make them go numb. The food provided didn’t offer them much, and their energy was sapped rapidly if they tried to do much besides walking around, so they couldn’t count on exercise to warm them. 

In their idle hours, the two wondered how long they would go before they were released, if ever, and, if they weren’t released, would they die in there? At first, they immediately rejected such speculation; they weren’t going to die there.

They couldn’t be positive, due to the low lighting of their situation, how long it had been before Kodachi showed up again. 

He entered in all his finery wearing a falsely sympathetic expression.

“Well, it seems my intrusion on your behalf did you some good! You’re looking more awake than the last time I saw you!”

Aoi and Uruha looked at him flatly, not answering. Judging by how sharp their limbs were becoming as they pressed into the soft parts of each other when they were curled up together, trying to stay warm on the floor that jabbed them with small stones and was grainy under their hands when they touched it, they weren’t looking better. In fact, they were probably much worse for the wear. They couldn’t really smell themselves anymore, but they could take a guess. So, the advisor’s positive attitude wasn’t exactly appreciated. 

When the two boys didn’t respond, Kodachi moved closer to the door, trying again anyway. 

“I think I may have found a way for you two to get out of this situation.”

The concubines’ eyes lit in excitement and they scurried closer to the door, ready to hear about any possibility of getting them out. 

Kodachi smiled widely as they approached before it was wiped away again with a look of sympathetic concern. 

“It will be hard, brutal, even. But I promise to protect you when it’s done. Unfortunately, it’s the only way I can get you out of here. You must know that both our lives will be on the line with this plan.”

Aoi and Uruha looked at each other, trepidation set in. They weren’t sure they wanted to be under Kodachi’s ‘protection.’ They didn’t trust him and he had proven himself untrustworthy. But they were willing to hear him out. Maybe he had something that wasn’t as bad as he was making it sound.

“You must never repeat our discussion. Do you understand? Never.” 

The two looked at each other and then back at the advisor before nodding tentatively. 

Kodachi’s smile was back for a moment, wide and somehow sinister before it was buried in a mask of pity. 

“I’ve thought over this long and hard, and I can only come to one conclusion.” Kodachi took a deep breath, as if he was really dreading what he had to say, and moved a few steps closer to the dungeon door.

“You poor, poor girls. Your only crime was serving the emperor so closely and yet…” he trailed off and shook his head, a bony fist coming to rest lightly on his chest, long nails curving into the papery skin of his palm. He closed his eyes, brow furrowing as he looked down as if even contemplating their fate was too difficult for him.

“I’m afraid,” he opened his eyes and looked directly into each of the concubines’ in turn, “there is only one way to get you out of here. You’ll have to agree,” he paused again, as if this was too painful to say, and then continued, “to kill the emperor.”

Aoi and Uruha were stunned into silence, each taking a few steps backward.

The advisor came closer, hands closing around the bars to their cell. “It’s the only way! It’s the only way to get you out of there and keep both of us from repercussions! You understand, don’t you?”

The concubines, again, didn’t respond and the pleading look on Kodachi’s expression flickered and turned towards anger when Aoi and Uruha began to slowly shake their heads. They did not have to consult each other before doing so. Kodachi took a step back from the door, hands releasing the bars as he stood up straight, and looked down his nose at them.

“I’m afraid there’s nothing more I can do for you girls without a firm commitment. This is the only solution to this problem. You will agree, in time.”

With a last, lingering, look, Kodachi turned and left. They heard his footsteps fade as he climbed the stairs out of their dungeon and the distant slam of a door before either of them moved from their position. 

Aoi looked to his blond companion, eyes desperate for reassurance. They’d done the right thing, hadn’t they? “You don’t really believe that...that this is all Kai’s fault, do you? I mean, you don’t think that he would have…” He trailed off and gestured hopelessly around the dungeon.

There was a momentary pause before Uruha shook his head. “No. No, I don’t think Kai would deliberately do this to us. There must be some mistake. Either way though, I’m not going to kill Kai to get us out of here. I mean he-I-” Uruha bit his lip and then shook his head vigorously. “We aren’t murderers anyway!”

Aoi turned his body fully toward Uruha, reaching out and cupping the blond’s downturned face in his palm, and nodded, brow furrowed. He looked at the brunet with eyes desperate for understanding, and Aoi replied, “I know. Me too.” He seemed to gather himself then, taking a deep breath before continuing. “You're right, we aren't killers. And do you really trust that advisor, anyway? This is definitely some sort of scheme, a scheme where we will be stuck under his gross thumb for the rest of our lives if we do as he says. We both know what he’s after, and if he ever found out about us, we’d both be dead in an instant.”

Uruha’s expression hardened, lips pressing together in a thin line. “Yes. He isn’t trustworthy and is definitely up to something.” He paused for another moment, thinking hard. “You don’t think… Aoi, you don’t think he’s trying to take the throne, do you?” 

Aoi shook his head, walking up to Uruha, taking his hand, and leading him to a clean corner where they both sat. “I don’t know. Maybe.” He shrugged. “But he’s definitely not trying to help us, and, even if he was actually good intentioned, there’s no way I’m sucking his nasty toes!”

Uruha pulled a face and laughed as Aoi snuggled closer to him, trying to stay warm. Leave it to Aoi to make him laugh even in such a situation. The comfort of each other’s presence was all they had left to defend their weakening mental and physical condition as the next day their rations were returned to only a bread crust and water apiece. 

Rather than making them doubt their decision, though, this strengthened their resolve. They would be hungrier, certainly, but this seemed to prove that Kodachi intended to manipulate them into his plan by whatever means necessary.

So, when he next visited them, the two were wary of what he’d come up with this time to try to push his agenda.

“Have you changed your minds?” 

This was the first thing he asked as he approached their cell, cutting right to the chase. 

The blond approached the cell door in front of Aoi, facing Kodachi down without flinching. 

“We will never take your offer. You don’t need to make it anymore.”

The advisor’s calm facade crumbled before their eyes, transforming into one of undiluted rage. He approached their cell door, fingers twitching as if itching to become fists. The man looked down at his feet, a low laugh starting in the back of his throat, and, when he looked back up again, his face had twisted into a vicious grin. 

He slammed his hands down against the bars, causing Aoi and Uruha to take a few steps away from the cell door. 

“What is it with you girls? I’ve offered you everything and yet you continuously refuse me! But you will agree with this. You will kill the emperor! I will make you so miserable that you have no choice!”

Aoi brushed in front of Uruha now, closer to Kodachi. “What can you possibly do to us? We’re already here!” He gestured around the tiny room, flinging his hands out to emphasize his point.

The advisor drew back, taking a step away and covering his face delicately with his hand. Then, he began to laugh again, hand slipping from his face and he snapped his fingers over his shoulder. The two heard thudding footsteps coming down the stairs. 

“Just remember, ladies, this is for your own good. I’m trying to save you from yourselves. You’re far too stubborn for your own good. I hope you can see that the emperor is your real enemy, and not me.”

No less than six guards now stood behind Kodachi, flanking him. Kodachi didn’t take his eyes from the boys as he gave them a command. 

“Guards, it's time to teach them a little lesson. These ladies need to learn the hard way to take care of themselves. Don’t hold back too much, now. They might be girls, but they must be taught.”

Aoi and Uruha looked at each other in panic as the door was opened, backing away as the men converged on them. They started towards each other but didn’t make it before they were yanked apart and held. 

The first blows they each received weren’t as hard as the two had expected, but they were definitely stunned. Each watched as the other was hit, facing each other, struggling against their captors once they realized what was going on. 

“Aoi!” Uruha kicked his heels into the shin of one of the men holding his arms out to the side and received a hard slap across the face for his effort. 

Kodachi’s voice floated over the sounds of the commotion, angry, “Put your backs into it, men! They need to learn!”

At that, the air was blown from Uruha’s lungs as a fist slammed into his stomach. His body curled forward, mouth open as bile escaped him in a rush. 

“Uruha!” Aoi screamed as he watched, struggling harder than ever before his head snapped to the side as a heavy blow hit him in the cheek. He couldn’t help the cry that left him at that. He heard Uruha yell again but his head was spinning so much he could do no more than let it loll forward limply. 

“Watch their faces! I need those intact. Can’t afford for them to lose any teeth. They have to be pretty for the emperor.”

Uruha was slammed to the floor as his struggling increased upon seeing Aoi almost unresponsive. He used all the strength he had left to try to escape, but before he could make any headway, the guards had picked him back up again. They kicked out the backs of his knees and forced him to the ground, holding his arms high up behind his back. 

That didn’t stop the blond’s struggles, though, until he felt one of his shoulders pop under the pressure. A high pitched shriek ripping from his chest at the sudden, searing pain. He looked over and saw his arm was dangling uselessly by his side. The guard had released him upon realizing what had happened.

“What are you doing, man?! Put it back! We need her intact!”

At that, the guard bent down and roughly popped the shoulder back into joint. Uruha’s eyes rolled back as he nearly passed out from the flare of pain.

“That’s enough!”

Aoi distantly heard the advisor’s voice call out as he rolled over, finally beginning to see straight as the guards released him and Uruha. He saw the blond collapse to the ground and immediately began to crawl towards him, dragging his own fallen body across the floor, not feeling as if he would be steady enough if he tried to get onto his knees. 

“Uruha.” He held the brunet’s face, softly tapping his cheek. “Uruha!” He tapped a little harder until the blond looking dazedly at the ceiling focused on him instead. 

“Aoi?” Uruha reached a hand from his undamaged arm up to touch the brunet’s face as it hovered over his own, his salty tears falling onto Uruha’s cheeks.

The blond sat up slowly, wincing as his arm spasmed in protest. He reached out and gathered the brunet to himself, holding him close to anchor himself to reality. 

“How sweet.”

Uruha’s head whipped around to face Kodachi, who was still standing behind the bars looking triumphant. He glared with all the hate he could muster, too angry to speak. 

“You two may want to reconsider my offer. This doesn’t have to be the way of things. Just come to me and you’ll both be saved from the emperor who is causing you so much pain.”

He said the last part with a sweet lilt in his voice and Uruha almost retched again. Aoi was now blinking hard to focus as best he could on the advisor, teeth bared in a silent growl.

“We won’t,” Uruha spat, gripping Aoi tightly. 

The false gentle look slid off Kodachi’s face, to be replaced by more of the same rage from earlier. 

“We shall see.”

He turned quickly, robes flaring out around him as he disappeared from view. 

Uruha bent down to Aoi as he heard the dungeon door slam shut, caressing the brunet’s face as he searched for injuries. Aoi was struggling to focus and he had the biggest headache he’d ever had. His cheek was certain to have a purple bruise and the inside of his cheek had ground against his teeth when he was hit. He could taste blood, but he was sure Uruha was worse off. 

The blond could hardly move his arm and, as Aoi pulled back his many layers of clothing to examine the damage, everything looked fine except a bruise rapidly growing on his pale skin. There was another forming on his lower abdomen. 

Uruha reached for Aoi’s hands with one of his own, stopping their gentle probing so he could pull the brunet close again. Their legs tangled together as each carefully lay their head on the other’s shoulder, grateful that they were each not more damaged.

It was several more days before Kodachi returned. They had plenty of time to recuperate, and Uruha’s arm was back to full functionality, only a small twinge present if he moved it in just the wrong way. Aoi’s face had a spectacular bruise that had yet to shrink, though the color was fading from an ugly purple-black to a slightly less pronounced purple that was surrounded in yellow. 

The sight of that bruise seemed to pull Kodachi in, his eyes glued to it as he entered the cell, his guards all lining the hallways behind him. Uruha and Aoi both backed up as he came in, each trying to block the other with his body. 

The advisor reached out to Aoi’s face, almost touching it despite the brunet’s attempts to escape the touch. The man drew his hand back, looking as if he regretted being the reason the bruise was there. He took a step back from the boys, who were now nearly pressed against the back wall of the cell. 

“Have you reevaluated your position on the matter of the emperor? The offer of our deal still stands.”

The two glared at him in stony silence. They were very aware of the guards’ presence and the lengths Kodachi was willing to go. 

“Come now! Can’t you see how my offer could never be any worse than what you’ve already been through? Just look at what the emperor’s done to you! You are wasting away, rotting in this cell! You deserve better than this. My offer will give you everything you could ever desire! It’s just one small task I ask of you.”

“And, really,” he caressed each of their cheeks this time, despite their identical flinches, “nobody is more suited for the job than you lovely ladies. After everything was said and done, you both would just come to me for protection! There would be no consequences! You would be off scot-free, with me!”

Both the concubines stared back at him incredulously. Aoi couldn’t stay quiet for long, though, and stepped forward. “We haven’t changed our minds.”

Unexpectedly, Kodachi’s small smile of promise grew, turning into one that said he thought they were fools. 

“Well,” he gave a small shrug, “I suppose we’ll have to do this the hard way.”

He made a gesture and the guards came into the room quickly pinning the boys against the wall, side by side so he could strut in front of them. Kodachi laughed to himself as he made his third pass in front of the restrained concubines. 

“You girls are impossible! I’ve offered you the world, and still, you refuse me! And for what? That useless, soft, emperor who so cruelly locked you away? All I’m asking is for you to do one little thing, and then both you and I will be safe and sound! Together in comfort and luxury!” He paused for a moment, looking like he was contemplating something. Aoi and Uruha looked defiantly back at him as he slowed and then stopped, facing them as if contemplating something.

“You know,” he began slowly, “I may not be as young as your emperor, but I have a wealth of experience that a man so young could never top.”

Aoi’s face slipped into a condescending smile, unable to stop himself.

“Must be sad to have to go to these lengths to try to get laid.” The brunet laughed scathingly, already tired of hearing Kodachi go on and on about his offer to them. He didn’t want it and he didn’t know how else to make it clear to the advisor that he’d rather die than get anywhere near any part of the other man’s anatomy. He shuddered when the thought of his nasty feet trying to feel him up under the kotatsu came to mind.

“You really think you can be better than him?” Aoi continued and the advisor’s eyes narrowed. “You’re just a servant. Lower than that. You’re just a coward. You’ll never be an emperor or anyone worth anything—” 

Aoi was cut off with a gasp as Kodachi backhanded him. He was surprised that the man had chosen to do it himself, but was pleased to note that the old man hadn’t half the power of his guards. Uruha growled and began struggling against the guards holding him. 

“I will have you!” The advisor moved forward and grabbed a handful of Aoi’s ass, looking into the brunet’s eyes as he did so. 

Aoi squeaked and tried to squirm away from the hand on his rump as Kodachi ran his long-nailed fingertip over his chest, parting his kimono and bearing skin as he moved down.

“I will see what’s beneath these clothes. I will be privy to what the emperor-” He cut himself off with a gasp, hand releasing Aoi’s backside in surprise. “What is this treachery?!”

Kodachi had run his fingers too far down, parting the fabric that had loosened as the brunet had lost weight enough that the fit was far beyond as loose as it was intended to be and revealed what was underneath. Aoi’s eyes widened as he felt the breeze around his groin. The man’s thin fingers ripped the cloth apart fully, revealing everything Aoi had kept hidden behind girls’ clothing all those years. 

Aoi and Uruha were silent as the man took several steps back, mouth working soundlessly as he chewed over this new piece of information. It couldn’t possibly be! He abruptly turned to Uruha, who ducked away from the man’s hands as best he could before his robe, too, was pulled very quickly open and he was revealed to Kodachi’s eyes.

“You!” The advisor moved his hands away from the concubine as if burned. “It was you! All along!” He seemed to be suffering some sort of mental break, but Uruha saw an opportunity he could not ignore. 

Kodachi was cut off abruptly as a heel struck him in the jaw. Uruha had used the guards’ hold to support his weight and kicked out at the advisor, hoping that the man might be distracted enough not to kill the two right away. Like hell was he going down without a fight. 

The blond smiled in satisfaction as he watched Kodachi stumble away from them, grunting as his arm was wrenched in an odd direction by the guards holding them. The advisor’s furious eyes landed on him and narrowed. 

“It seems these two filthy whores haven’t learned a thing since their previous lesson. Take care of it. I’ll wait for you upstairs.”

Kodachi exited to the sound of heavy blows to skinny bodies, grunts and groans accompanied these sounds and he smiled in satisfaction. Those little rats would be punished for their willfulness if it was the last thing he did. He rubbed the sore spot on his chin as he walked. Clearly, those two were a danger together. He’d have to take drastic measures if he wanted to break them. He couldn’t wait for that day.

The boys were battered to the point of near passing out. Uruha’s eye was nearly swollen shut, his ribs bruised, and Aoi was sporting a split lip and a swollen knee from a kick that knocked it so askew he was sure it had been somehow injured beyond full repair.

The two huddled in their clean corner, trying to get warm and wondering how much more of this they would have to take. Neither of them was giving up though, no matter what. Their belief that this wasn’t Kai’s doing only deepened every time the advisor showed his face. It was a small relief in the grand scheme of things, but a relief nonetheless. 

They fell asleep holding each other again, too exhausted to dream. They were startled awake by the sound of the key turning in the lock of their cell door. They turned to see what was going on, only to see a group of guards march through the open cell door. They both shied away from the men, holding each other. When the guards reached them, they ripped them apart, their limbs flailing and grabbing at everything in their path as they were bodily lifted. They were able to grab each other’s hands again before the two men holding Aoi began to carry him off.

“Uru!” Aoi shrieked and slapped at everything he could reach on his captors as he was separated from Uruha, their entwined hands being pulled slowly apart.

“Uru!” Aoi’s desperate voice rang out with the childhood nickname, breaking Uruha’s heart as the brunet’s nails scrambled against the stone floor in an attempt to drag himself away from the men holding him. Aoi grabbed a hold of the bars as he passed them, his fingers slipping off one by one as the guards heaved at his lower body. 

Memories of their childhood flashed before his eyes, memories of when Aoi was nothing but a little runt, often getting into trouble with bigger kids for his unfiltered mouth. Then he would go running to Uruha to save him, yelling ‘Uru!’. Uruha had always found a way to save him. Always. Until now. 

He was powerless and, no matter how hard he tried, all he could do was pull against the men restraining him and watch as the thing he cared about most in this world was torn away from him. Perhaps, never to be seen again. All he’d have would be memories of Aoi struggling to reach him with fear in his eyes, crying out to be saved by the one person he’d trusted to do so as Uruha could only struggle helplessly to get to his side.

“Aoi!” Uruha struggled against his own captors as he watched the brunet being dragged away from him, the blond unable to escape their grip enough to do anything but watch as Aoi gazed at him desperately until he was dragged out of sight. 

“Uru!” The brunet gave one last desperate cry before there was a thump and then silence from the brunet as the guards trooped up the stairs. The ones holding Uruha pushed him roughly away from them and Uruha heard the door to the cell crash closed before the blond could even stand to see it happen. 

“Aoi! Aoi!” He yelled as he ran for the front of the cell. His plaintive cries went unheard by the brunet and the door at the top of the stairs slammed shut with a resounding bang. 

Uruha slumped to the floor, arms still pushed through the bars of the door to their cell as he began wailing miserably for his lost counterpart. 

Aoi came out of his daze just as he was dropped onto a wooden floor of the barred-in cage of the wagon that had taken them there in the first place. The floor immediately began to sway under him as the wagon moved. The guards still held him for a moment as a dark cloth bag was placed over his head so he could no longer see where they were going. His mind raced. Where could they be taking him? Why do this after all this time? Had they taken Uruha? If so, where was Uruha? Was he going to die while Aoi wasn’t there to help him, protect him, save him from any of this? What could he do?

The guards released him and a moment later he heard the gate containing him slam shut, the wagon still moving along at a steady pace as he reached through the bars, trying to escape and knowing it was hopeless.

Eventually, he stopped struggling, sick with worry. He could only guess where they were going. He hoped Uruha wasn’t suffering the guards’ brutal punishment. He needed him to be safe. 

He didn’t know where he was going, but, wherever it was, he steeled his resolve. He wouldn’t change his mind. He would never go with Kodachi and he knew Uruha wouldn’t either. He would need that faith in the blond more than ever to get through this, but he vowed to be strong, knowing somewhere deep down in his heart that Uruha would as well. Uruha had said that as long as Aoi’s heart was beating, his would too. Aoi would do everything in his power to stay alive, knowing that Uruha’s heart depended on it too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nuuuuuuuu how will they live without eachother!? 😭


	13. The Emperor Returns

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lots of violence. You’ve been warned.

By the time the wagon slowed, Aoi’s muscles had begun to cramp up due to the confined space in which he’d been thrown. He didn’t know how long it had been, but he did become fully aware of the aches and pains that were present in his body now from the struggle he had put up earlier. His worries over Uruha didn’t allow him to get any rest, and, when the swaying motion of the wagon suddenly stopped, he was wide awake and instantly on guard. 

He heard the scrape of a key in metal and he scooted away from the sound, pressing his back against the far side of his moving cell in case anything untoward tried to get through to attack him. He needn’t have bothered, though, because the guard that climbed in to drag him out, seemed to have no qualms about at exactly what angle he pulled Aoi from the back of the cart. 

The brunet felt his feet hit the ground and he immediately fell over, his legs numb, catching himself on his hands and knees. Then, he was roughly lifted by the armpits and led somewhere he couldn’t see. 

They soon entered a place that smelled as moldy and damp as the last place they were in. As far as Aoi could tell, nothing had changed. He was pushed forward onto a stone floor much like the last one; it was hard, damp, and cold. The bag over his head was pulled off abruptly, and he heard the door slam behind him as he struggled to his feet, looking around. 

The lighting was about the same as the last place; the bars on his cell door, though, were quite a bit thicker than the ones where he’d last been. The only other significant difference was the pair of shackles bolted to the wall on one side. He shuddered to think what that could possibly mean for him.

Outside his cell door he could barely make out a low wall that seemed to be covered in creeping moss and led to a stone flagged courtyard that was also covered with moss. It was quiet here, too. It seemed to him that during a sunny day this place might even be well lit and a little warmer. 

What little comfort he took from that was quickly overshadowed by what his change of location might mean for him. It truly was basically the same situation he’d left behind but with one crucial difference. Uruha wasn’t here.

That fact was never more apparent to the brunet than it was when he found a dry corner of the room to curl up in. The body heat and comfort of the blond curled up with him was missing. He shifted around, unable to sleep despite his exhaustion. 

In the other dungeon, separate from Aoi, Uruha was having the same realization. As if his discomfort wasn’t enough, there were soon men filing down the stairs with heavy footsteps. Uruha looked up curiously, on guard for whatever they might throw at him. There was a moment of silence before an ear splitting cacophony of noise began, causing him to clap his hands over his ears. He looked around frantically, wondering what could possibly be the cause of the noise but was unable to pinpoint a source through the omnipresent gloom of his cell.

This endured until the grey light signaled that dawn was on the horizon. Aoi experienced a similar event on his side, making him curl his body up as much as he could in fear and confusion. 

The evening resulted in not a wink of sleep for either of the boys. When dawn truly broke Aoi could, indeed, see the sunlight. Though not as clear as it would be was he not stuck in his cell, it still felt like the first time in ages and tears rimmed his eyes as he wished Uruha could see the same thing. He never realized how much he could miss the sun. 

Uruha’s cell door burst open right after the noise stopped, allowing several guards to enter through it. He stood on weak legs as they approached him and defended as best he could when they began to lay into him. It didn’t last long, though, before Kodachi walked in, stopping them in their tracks.

Uruha panted and leaned against the wall, glaring at the man as he approached. 

“Oh now, now. What a frightfully hateful expression.”

He stopped and smiled at the blond.

“That was just a reminder of what you can expect should you refuse me. Now that I know you’re a man, you can take it, right?”

Uruha said nothing.

“Well, in any case, I’ll need your honest responses. That should be very difficult for someone as deceitful as yourself, but I expect you understand how this works at this point.”

Uruha did speak this time, but not to give the man any answers he sought. “Where’s Aoi?”

Kodachi waved his hand. “That’s not how this game works, you understand? But, I’ll let it go this once. Now, you’ll answer my questions.”

The advisor straightened up and looked directly into Uruha’s eyes. “Tell me, it was you, was it not? You and that other filthy concubine are the children who were in the forest that day. Am I right?”

Uruha pursed his lips. The air was abruptly crushed from his lungs as he received a blow to the ribs for his silence.

Kodachi smiled again. “Now you see, right? You know how this works. Answer my question.”

Uruha looked contemplative for a second before he opened his mouth. The advisor leaned forward eagerly.

“Where is Aoi?” He received another blow, to his face this time, for his cheek.

“Answer me.” The man’s eyes had turned angry as he realized Uruha wouldn’t give in so easily.

Uruha leaned forward again, pulling at the hold the guards had on him. “What have you done with Aoi?!” His shout rang throughout the room and he took another blow to his face, splitting his lip.

The advisor leaned back, satisfied that he was winning this game, but he had a sudden idea.

“He can be spared, if you answer my questions.” Kodachi walked nearer to Uruha, trailing a finger down his cheek. “You can save him all this pain.”

He saw Uruha falter, indecision in his eyes. The blond was desperate to save his companion. He pressed his advantage. “You can save him. You can save both of you! My first deal is still an option!”

Uruha’s vulnerable face quickly closed off at that, a glare replacing it. 

“I will never do that.”

Anger flashed in the advisor’s eyes before it was replaced with a calm facade. 

“Then you will suffer! And so will your lovely companion. Who knows just what I might do to him?” He ran a long nail lightly down the skin of Uruha’s throat. 

The blond took a breath, drawing his head back before jerking his chin forward, spittle flying from his mouth and smacking the advisor in the face. 

Kodachi drew back, startled, wiping the gob of spit from his eyes and looking at Uruha, who was now grinning at him. 

The advisor’s face twisted in disgust and when he spoke his voice was low, deadly. “Take care of him.”

In moments, Uruha was grunting and gasping in pain as blows rained down over his body. At first, it hurt, but after a few hits his body became numb and, though he could feel the punches coming in, he couldn’t seem to focus on or feel the pain they caused. 

Kodachi left rather abruptly after that, the blond barely noticing when he did. The treatment continued for a few minutes before the guards dropped him, his legs collapsing under him as he slumped against the wall, near to passing out. 

Everything was hazy until the sound of footsteps on the stairs alerted him to someone’s presence. His typical food tray was dropped through the bars, but it was devoid of even the smallest crust that he was used to receiving. The water nearly spilled under the force that accompanied which the tray was dropped in. 

The blond tried to move closer to the tray, but it was difficult. Though his legs were mostly unharmed, his midsection was aching in a way that promised problems down the road. He assumed, though, that it must be better than it had been the first few times he had taken hits from the guards, because this time he hadn’t thrown up. 

When he finally got a hold of his water, he took it back to his corner and sipped it slowly. That evening, the cacophony began again, not allowing for any sleep. 

Aoi was subjected to the noise in his cell throughout the nights, as well. The day after Uruha received a visit from the advisor, Aoi did, too. 

The brunet was leaning listlessly against the wall of the cell when the door was flung open and the guards entered. The advisor followed at a leisurely pace, looking over the new cell. His eyes lit up when they caught sight of the shackles. 

“Well, well, well, what have we here?” He raised a brow as Aoi stood up straighter, back against the wall, prepared to defend himself. Kodachi gestured at the chains. “Let’s make use of these, shall we?”

Aoi struggled sluggishly as the guards pinned each of his arms to the wall and attached the shackles, leaving him standing on his tiptoes, his arm stretched out to either side and above his head. He pulled against the chains, testing their strength, but they didn’t yield. He glared at the advisor as he moved forward.

“Now, we’ve been to see your friend Uruha, but he didn’t seem to want to cooperate, so I’ll make the same offer here.” Aoi’s face tightened. 

“What have you done to him?” 

Kodachi laughed at Aoi’s sudden vehemence. 

“Nothing you can’t stop.” 

Aoi stilled. What was he talking about?

“All you have to do is tell me the truth.” He paused, allowing his words to sink in before carrying on.

“You two were the boys in the woods when the emperor was killed.”

Aoi’s face closed off. Did the advisor think he was stupid? He’d just kill him the second he told them that they were and, more importantly, he’d put Uruha’s neck on the line. The blond had obviously refused to give them up and Aoi wasn’t about to break that chain. He stayed silent. 

“So stubborn! If you just told me the truth and then promised to take care of the emperor, you could be under my protection forever! Why would you ignore this chance?”

Aoi rolled his eyes. “If by ‘under your protection’ you mean we’ll have to spread our legs for you whenever you command, that’s gonna be a hard no for me.”

As soon as he finished speaking a blow struck his face, snapping his head to the side. His previously injured cheek now throbbed again.

“Why you insolent…!” The advisor cut himself off with a snarl. “I can see you and that other rat are just the same! Who would want you anyway! I didn’t see what the emperor saw in you before and can understand it even less now!”

Aoi grinned despite the pain in his cheek. “For a man who didn’t want this, you sure worked hard to get it.” He tried to shrug. “Just admit it; you’re gay.”

That seemed to be the last straw for the advisor. “Teach this insolent slug some manners! He’ll need some extra pain to see reason!” He turned and marched out the doorway without a backwards glance. Aoi suffered dearly at the guards hands for what he had said. This time the guards didn’t stop at just heavy blows to his abdomen, twisting his already injured leg when he kicked out when one of them approached him with a pair of what looked like pliers. Where had they gotten those from?

Aoi squirmed desperately in their grip as the pliers approached one of his inert hands. He curled his fingers into his palms, but they were pried away from it until they had a hold of just his ring finger. He looked desperately as the man holding the pliers moved them closer to the hand. The tip of the instrument disappeared from his view and for a moment he felt nothing. Then, his finger seared with pain and he let out a scream that echoed throughout the chamber, renewing his struggles with vigor. 

A moment later the searing pain came again, this time on his thumb. Aoi was unable to hold back his tears as he screamed. The guard with the pliers took a step back, holding out his palm so Aoi could see his own bloody fingernails held in them through his blurred eyes. 

His hand throbbed in pain as the men stepped back, and then left the cell. Aoi slumped in his bonds. He was panting and shaking as he sobbed, wishing for Uruha to come save him. 

Long after his tears had dried, he hung there. When night came the horrible sounds came again, so it was a sleepless one. The guards released him from his shackles in the morning when they delivered his ration of a bread crust and water. 

He ate it shakily, hardly strong enough to hold himself up as he finished. He collapsed to the floor in a dead faint upon looking at his hand, partially due to exhaustion and partially due to the memory of the pain. 

They were both subjected to visits from Kodachi, that always ended violently, every other day. The sleep deprivation continued and they could each feel their mental barriers breaking down. What had been preserved by the other’s presence slowly started unraveling. 

Aoi couldn’t seem to respond to the advisor’s threats in any way but with condescension, inviting many more horrible punishments. The worst punishment came when he threatened Kodachi that when Kai returned he would spill his dirty homosexual fantasies to everyone in the castle, thus resulting in his removal from his station. 

The brunet had his clothes removed except for the undergarments and was turned around, chest pressed against the wall, his legs held in place, his hands in each of the cuffs. His breathing was rapid because he could no longer see what the guards were up to and assumed the worst. 

He didn’t understand, at first, when a sharpened bamboo skewer slightly smaller than a chopstick was presented to him. When the skin on his side was pinched and lifted from his now very prominent ribs, he did not understand what they were about to do. He did not understand until that first skewer poked through the thick skin that was lifted until it came out the other side and was dropped.

This procedure continued until both of his exposed sides were littered with the skewers, some even placed through the skin over his shoulder blades. He was sobbing and sweating and shivering all at once, almost wishing to die rather than be subjected to the torture of living. 

They left him hanging by his abused wrists that evening, his skin red and spotted with drying blood. The cool air was soothing to his wounds and, if he didn’t move, he found that they were bearable. He remembered that Uruha needed him and he could not die or give in to Kodachi’s wishes. 

The next time Aoi saw the advisor, he had some cock and bull story about Uruha accepting his terms. 

“That’s right, Aoi. Uruha has already agreed to my terms. He said he would act to take down the emperor. He even admitted that the two of you were the ones from the woods, all those years ago! He’s just waiting on you so you two can move on, living happily under my protection.”

Aoi refused to believe that for a second. Uruha would never do that to him. He knew how Aoi felt about the advisor. He would not sell them out; he would not be the reason Uruha suffered more. That evening, they removed the skewers, twisting them on the way out and causing him to bleed afresh. 

Throughout this time Uruha was also visited by the advisor in as much frequency. The advisor took a different approach with him, though, trying to be reasonable. He offered the blond many things for his compliance from promising he would spare Aoi, to offering him a nice wife. 

“You want that, don’t you? You want some nice, fresh, pussy? I can get that for you!”

Uruha gave a sardonic laugh; he could hardly believe Kodachi would use that approach. The only ones he wanted to be with were Aoi and Kai. He paused in his thoughts. Kai? Why was he thinking of him at all? He shook his head as if to clear the thought. 

“Don’t you see?” He shook his head. His body was slowing down more and more these days, due to the lack of food and energy. He only received his bread crusts on the days the advisor didn’t come to him. 

The advisor looked confused, waiting for him to continue. 

Uruha shook his head again, brows raised in disbelief. “The part you fail to realize, is that I like getting railed by Kai!”

The advisor was stunned into silence for a moment before he turned and left without another word. He got the same punishment as the first time as he received a beating by the guards left behind, but Uruha was relieved. Perhaps he wouldn’t be seeing much of that man anymore?

He was surprised, therefore, on the day following his meal day, when the guards entered his cell and pinned him to the floor. He felt all his limbs restrained as a cloth covered his face. He couldn’t see anything, but he did hear the suspicious sounds of liquid sloshing followed by the advisor’s voice. 

“Now, you are going to tell me what I want to know. Are you or are you not the boys from the forest on the day of the emperor’s death?”

Uruha stayed silent and then gasped and sputtered, trying to move his head out from under the stream of water that was poured over it. His head was held in place along with his remaining limbs. When the water stopped he tried to draw breath only to realize the waterlogged cloth was stuck to his mouth and nose, preventing any clear breaths.

“Why don’t you just give in already? Aoi’s already agreed to my proposition. I just need you both in on it. Take down the emperor. Live under my protection.”

The cloth was removed from his face and Uruha drew in a gasping breath, taking several more before the advisor spoke again. 

“Aoi has already admitted you were the boys from the forest.” Uruha could see Kodachi’s face clearly as the man stood over him. “I just need you both to tell me the truth.”

Uruha closed his mouth and gave the advisor a hard look. He would not say anything. 

The cloth was placed back over his face and the process repeated several times before the advisor deemed the day a failure, turning and leaving Uruha dripping and freezing on the floor, drawing deep breaths as if every lungful would be his last. He would never take breathing for granted again. 

That night, as the cacophony of noise assaulted his ears and prevented sleep, he thought of Aoi. He knew the other would never give in so easily. There was no way Aoi would accept the advisor’s terms and, if he had, Uruha would surely be dead right now. 

The next time, Kodachi tried yet another tact, trying to reason with him about another subject.

“Aren’t you tired, Uruha? Aren’t you tired of cleaning up after him?”

Uruha refused to speak; the guards were back at it with the cloth and the water.

“He doesn’t care about you! He’s the whole reason you’re in this mess! Does he not bring you nothing but trouble?”

Uruha gritted his teeth. He knew Aoi’s big mouth was a large part of the reason they landed themselves into many situations, but Aoi’s big mouth was a part of him and Uruha loved it. He loved everything about the brunet. He wouldn’t change a thing about him and wouldn’t give up any part of him, no matter what kind of trouble it caused. The advisor could never understand that. He refused to speak.

That night, he froze again. The evenings were getting colder. He shivered through the night, awake only because the loud clanking coming from outside his cell. That evening he started to feel it. He was getting sick. He was weak and hadn’t eaten enough. He was barely surviving as is. A sickness at this point would kill him.

This was something that he almost wished for the next time the advisor stopped in. 

“Aoi’s dead.”

Uruha froze in his struggle against the guards. “You ... are a liar.”

Kodachi raised a calm brow. “Am I?”

The blond glared, saying nothing. He refused to accept that the brunet was gone, but a part of him was having a hard time refuting the claim. The conditions he was in were bad enough. How much better could his own condition be than the brunet’s? He was as close to death as he’d ever been, so why couldn’t Aoi be.

“He decided to go back on his word. He didn’t want to kill the emperor, said he was lying about you being the boys in the woods. So,” the advisor shrugged lightly, “I had him killed.”

Uruha slumped in the guards hold, stunned into silence at the possibility that this could be true. 

“You must see, he wasn’t trustworthy! He’d give us both away in our pursuit to kill the emperor! It wasn’t safe for us!”

Uruha didn’t respond other than shaking his head, too lost in his own swirling thoughts. He felt the advisor’s clammy hands on his face, lifting his head so he would look into his eyes. 

“It’s just you and me now, Uruha. Will you play your part?”

Uruha looked into Kodachi’s eyes and felt a sudden surge of hatred. This man had caused Aoi’s death. His face twisted in anger. 

“I will never help you.”

The advisor frowned and dropped his face. “Then you will die, too. Strip him. Let him die sick, cold, and alone.” The advisor left the dungeon and the guards hastened to follow orders. 

Uruha’s body was limp and pliant under their hands as they pulled the clothes off his excruciatingly thin and dirty body.

When they finished, Uruha just slumped to the floor where they left him. He hadn’t the strength to fight on. If Aoi was gone, there was no point anyway.

\---------------------------

Kai took a deep breath as he walked into his wing of his palace. It was nice to finally be able to breathe. The stuffy environments of the summit had worn him down when all he really wanted to do was get to the bottom of the mystery that had plagued him before he’d left his palace. 

He’d almost been killed the day after finding out that his concubines had witnessed the death of his father? Coincidence? He didn’t know. And, if so, what had prompted this incident. If not, did the boys have something to do with it? He just did not know. 

But, he did know that he missed the two. He had left instructions for them to be cared for and had received word telling him of where they had been placed within the castle. He quickly changed from his dusty travel wear, eager to see them. 

Before he had left, he had feared for their safety and, if he was honest, his own from them. He hadn’t been sure he could trust them, with good reason as they had just spilled the news about his father. He hadn’t been prepared for that, and he had blamed them, in part, for not telling him despite Kai being aware of their motives. 

He had spent the month he had been away at the summit reflecting, and, despite his head telling him they could be his enemies, his heart simply couldn’t accept it. He knew it was foolish of him, as an emperor, to trust any of his subjects so completely, but he just couldn’t help himself. He believed in them and wanted everything for them. 

So, as soon as he changed he hurried off to go find them. He felt a visceral pull to see them. He was shocked when he arrived at the room they were supposed to be in to find no guards posted on the door. Nothing could possibly have happened to them, right? They weren’t...they hadn’t been killed in his absence? Impossible!

He strode to the door and flung it open. It was empty inside save for the single large futon on the floor. His eyes searched the room frantically before he stopped, realizing he wasn’t going to find any traces of them there. He stepped away from the doorway, turning to so he could head back towards his advisor’s area. 

He wasn’t surprised to see his stepmother in the hall, walking toward him followed by his fiance. 

“My son!” She greeted him with her arms outstretched. “It’s good to see you looking so well!” Her false smile grated on his raw nerves as he kept walking in her direction. His fiance dropped into a low bow as he approached. 

“Why the hurry, my son? You look troubled.” There was a false touch of concern in her voice, overshadowed by irritation because he seemed to be paying her no mind. 

He moved to walk past her and she caught his arm. “Where are you going? And what were you doing down here.”

Kai stopped and straightened, looking down his nose at his stepmother. “I am the emperor. I can go where I please.”

She dropped into a hasty bow, neck bent. “Of course, of course you can. Were you looking for something in this hall? Perhaps, I can help.” She raised her head, completely changing her tact. “I do live here, you know?”

Kai grunted and began to walk on before he had a thought and stopped again.

“The guards on that room, why aren’t they there?”

“They’ve been gone for weeks, as have the two that were in there. And good riddance too, I…” She trailed off as Kai huffed and began to walk again, this time faster. 

Kai stormed through the castle to Yamamoto san’s quarters, not pausing as he opened the door and came face to face with the man sitting lazily at a low table. 

“Where are they?” 

The large man bowed hastily. “Emperor sama! Forgive me! I had no idea you were coming! Had I prepared-”

Kai cut the man off, asking again, voice louder. “Where are they?!”

Yamamoto san stuttered for a moment, “We-well, well...who?”

The emperor advanced a step further into the room, fingers twitching in irritation. He was beginning to feel extremely concerned about the boys. 

“The concubines! I gave you explicit instructions!”

The man nodded, bowing repeatedly. “O-oh, yes, of course, Emperor sama! Well, Kodachi offered to look after them and I thought…” He trailed off as Kai’s face went from frustrated to livid. 

“You gave away your task to another. After I specifically assigned you to this duty, you threw it into the hands of another?”

“I...I-” the man was at a loss for words. The emperor’s expression was something he’d never seen on the man’s face before. He looked ready to kill. 

“Nevermind!” Kai cut him off. “I’ll deal with you later.” The promise was a threat and Yamamoto san knew it. 

Kai quickstepped through the halls, beginning to get desperate as he sought Kodachi. It was fairly late in the evening by the time he’d arrived home, and all the advisors were likely to be in their own quarters. This was lucky for him because they all shared a wing and Kodachi’s room wasn’t far from Yamamoto san’s. 

He didn’t bother knocking when he arrived at Kodachi’s quarters, opening the door and striding in. The man wasn’t in his front chamber and Kai didn’t stop there, walking through and opening the door to the advisor’s bedchamber without hesitation. 

Kodachi hadn’t stirred at Kai’s approach and so Kai crossed the room, grabbing the man’s arm and shaking him roughly awake. 

“Wh-wha…Emperor sama?” The man seemed to get his bearings, and sat up, bowing hastily. 

“What have you done with my concubines?!” Kai’s voice was loud, his face not far from Kodachi’s as he hovered over the seated man intimidatingly. 

The advisor blinked. “What do you mean?”

“Don’t play games with me, Kodachi. What have you done with them?”

“They’re gone?” The advisor shook his head. “Oh no, I was afraid of this. Did I not tell you they were spies? They must’ve escaped.”

Kodachi looked up at Kai with such false innocence that it turned his stomach. How had he not seen it before?! The emperor reached out and grabbed a handful of the advisor’s nightclothes, lifting his body slightly off the bed. The man made a sound of protest at the rough treatment, eyes round with surprise as thin hands grabbed at Kai’s.

“Emperor sama! I-”

“Shut up!” Kai growled as he held the man aloft. “If you dare try anything more, I will not forgive you.”

The emperor didn’t have time to waste on this pathetic man. He needed to find Aoi and Uruha. He dropped the advisor, turned on his heel, and charged out of the room. Kai encountered a guard on patrol in the hallway and stopped him. 

“Watch him, no matter what.” He pointed at the advisor’s room. 

The guard bowed. “Yes, Emperor sama.”

With that, Kai did not tarry any longer, sweeping down to the quarters of the head of the royal guards and waking him. 

“Convene your subordinates. I have questions that need answering.”

It took ten minutes for the guards to gather in the yard, Kai pacing impatiently as he waited, berating himself for allowing this to happen.

“Emperor sama,” the head of the royal guards walked forward and bowed, “everyone is assembled.”

Kai looked over the small crowd and began to speak, instantly garnering their full attention.

“Gentlemen, I have a small problem. I have lost two of my concubines and it has occured to me that, if you were given orders, you may know where they were taken.”

There was a shuffle among the troops as they each considered their recent directives. A handful of guards stepped forward; the one at the head of the group stopped and bowed. 

“With your permission, emperor sama!”

Kai nodded as the man rose from his bow. 

“Roughly one month ago we were instructed by one of your advisors to remove two female prisoners from the premises and to the unused hold on the far side of your kingdom.”

“A...month ago?” Kai’s eyes widened, fear tearing at his heart “And have any of you seen these two women since?” The emperor looked around the crowd, praying for any sort of affirmative answer, but the group remained silent. Kai stood for a moment, stunned. A month? In that barren dungeon? 

Kai gathered himself and began giving orders. “Fetch my steed! Bring a carriage round and a few of you follow me to the hold!”

His orders were carried out swiftly and the moment his horse arrived Kai took off, mounting it and flying towards the hold as fast as he could. He left the guards behind to sort things out, his mind preoccupied with the desperate hope that he would arrive in time to find anything but the dead bodies of his beloved concubines. 

He cursed himself as he pushed the horse to its limits. How could he have let it come to this? What had been done to them? What had his distrust and confusion done to them? He was to blame for this and he knew it. What if he was too late?

The hooves of the horse pounded down the dirt road, the hold coming into view some twenty minutes later. The guard at the gate scrambled out as he spotted Kai coming, standing at the gate as Kai’s horse came thundering up. The emperor dismounted in one smooth movement before walking forward and impatiently demanding the gate be opened.

The guard quickly realized to whom he was speaking and set to work, sorting his keys with a haste that nearly caused him to drop them. When the gate opened Kai brushed past, his pace a very fast walk as the guard trailed behind him, hustling to catch up.

“Who ordered them imprisoned here?”

To the guard’s surprise, the emperor spoke as they walked.

“Them?” He replied foolishly, and continued, “there’s only one prisoner in there.” 

Kai picked up his pace further, sending the guard into a trot behind him. “What do you mean, only one?”

The guard shook his head. “I’m sorry, Emperor sama, I was assigned here two weeks ago and there’s only been one.” 

The emperor grew more frustrated. “Who the fuck— open the damned door!”

They had reached the entrance and the guard fumbled with his keys, again almost dropping them, as he answered. 

“I don’t know, Emperor sama, we change posts routinely. But, one of your advisors was just here yesterday. Maybe he might know.” The guard made the suggestion with a sense of relief, glad the blame for whatever this was about was going to be shifted off him. 

The door was finally unlocked and opened, Kai pushing in the moment it was open enough for him to squeeze in. The emperor swiftly navigated the stairs, coming upon the first cell and stopping to peer inside. 

What he saw there was his worst nightmares come to life.


	14. Search and Destroy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **WARNING** more violence and non-con in this chapter.

What he saw there was his worst nightmares come to life. There was a skeletal looking body hunched over in the corner of the room, covered by nearly no clothes. The bones and sinews of that creature stood out in stark relief to the pale skin marred by many bruises and cuts. Kai’s heart dropped. The blond hair was dirty but unmistakable. 

The guard had come down the stairs and seen, becoming paralyzed. He’d never realized what they were holding in that cell. He’d never seen such a poor creature before. Was it even still alive?

The emperor held out a hand to him.. “Give me the keys and get out,” he intoned quietly. He might as well have shouted in the silence and the guard didn’t hesitate to obey, quickly separating the cell key from the rest and handing it to the emperor before turning and running from the horrid sight.

Kai quickly unlocked the door, alarmed when the figure hunched in the corner didn’t even twitch at the noise. He ran across the room, more horrified as the details of what he was seeing became clearer. He looked over Uruha’s emaciated body, unable to see much due to poor lighting, but quickly realized the temperature in the room wasn’t conducive to staying warm if one was naked. 

He fumbled with the button on his robes, taking altogether too long to undo them, and draped it around Uruha’s body, heart-clenching when he saw how it enveloped him, making him look even smaller. As he was adjusting it around his shoulders he looked up to see Uruha’s glassy eyes open and staring at him vaguely curious expression. 

Kai moved soft hands to the blond’s face, tears of relief gathering in his eyes. Uruha was alive!

“Uruha!” He rubbed gentle thumbs over the other man’s face, the glassy eyes becoming more alert after a moment. “Can you walk?”

The blond didn’t respond verbally but, several moments later, he lifted his stick-thin arms to wrap around Kai’s shoulders. He tried to get up but couldn’t. He could hardly feel anything. Even the sickness that he’d caught that had initially wracked his frail body with coughs barely registered. He was too cold and numb to move on his own. He was too cold and too tired to feel any pain though, and he supposed that was nice. 

Kai gently lifted him up, wrapping a strong arm gently about his waist as he walked them forward. The one arm Uruha had around the emperor’s shoulders was not doing him much good at that point. The blond’s feet dragged along the ground as they began to walk together, Kai supporting most of his little weight as they exited the cell and started up the stairs. 

Uruha was vaguely aware as they made their way up the stairs, but one thought was still at the forefront of his mind. He spoke it out loud, his voice wan. 

“Where’s Aoi?”

Kai didn’t, couldn’t, answer. He didn’t know and he hoped that with the state Uruha was in, saving one didn’t mean he’d lost the other forever. Aoi must be just as bad off as his blond counterpart. The emperor watched the other man carefully as they climbed the stairs. He didn’t think the blond was in a fit state to retain any information told to him at this time, anyway. 

They made it to the top of the stairs and the blond’s rattling breaths were ragged. Kai set him down and hurried back down to take a quick look in the other cells, ensuring that Aoi wasn’t there before returning to Uruha’s side. 

By the time they made it out the door, the royal guard had arrived. Kai ordered one of the guards to get water as he got the blond settled on the squashy seat of the carriage before getting in himself. He took the water brought to them and handed it to Uruha, disheartened to see the man could barely hold it up. His responses were so sluggish that it occurred to Kai that Uruha may be truly on the brink of death and he had arrived in the nick of time. That thought made his frustration at not knowing where Aoi was, grow even further. 

As soon as the blond drank as much as it appeared he was going to, Kai returned the cup to the guard and ordered the guards to return to the palace. 

When the carriage began to move, Kai was able to better see the damage done in his absence in all the spaces where the robe didn’t cover Uruha’s unbelievably skinny body. It was, honestly, terrifying to look at him, the skin on his face stretched so tightly over his bones that his cheeks and eye sockets looked nearly hollowed out. 

Every single bone Kai could see from the robe slipping over the blond’s shoulder and down his chest, to his leg, ankle, and foot, visible under the hem, was sticking out so far that Kai wondered if there was any muscle or fat present on the blond’s body at all. He wondered how he had stood, not surprised that his back had bowed under the heavy weight of Kai’s robe. 

The blond could barely lift the cup of water he had been holding and his hands were caked with dirt, nails encrusted with it. There were large, colorful bruises in varying stages of healing littering his body, and patches of dried and, even, fresh blood. This was only what he could see in the gaps in the robe, in the dark of the night.

Kai fought the urge to put his head in his hands. Not only did he not deserve to, but he didn’t think he could bear to look away from the blond, in case the life behind those glassy eyes winked out as he looked away. He knew this was his fault. If only he had seen and believed in these boys. If only he hadn’t left them under other people’s protection. If he’d only _ been  _ there to take care of them…

The carriage raced down the road and arrived back at the palace sooner than Kai would have thought possible, but he was grateful for the speed. He opened the door himself and hopped out, addressing one of the guards to summon Kodachi and bring water to him in his rooms before he turned around and helped Uruha from the carriage, almost dragging him slowly through the maze of corridors until they reached Kai’s wing of the palace. Kai chose an elegant room with a view of the courtyard to set the man up in. 

The emperor gently lowered the blond to the plushy futon already located there, and then stood up. Right down the hall was a servant bustling with a pitcher of water and a cup. When she arrived Kai took the items from her. 

“Go to the guard at the front entrance to this wing and tell him I want him to send one of my personal guards to me here.

He went back into the room to check on the blond, who was pressing his thin fingers into the cushion of the futon in apparent wonder. Kai set the jug of water down after pouring a glass and set that right next to it on a low table very near the futon. 

“Listen, Uruha,” those light brown eyes focused on him after a processing moment, “I’ll be leaving you here, but I brought you some water and I’ll be back. My personal guard will be at your door if you need anything, but please don’t leave this room. It’s the only way I can protect you, do you understand?”

Uruha blinked and then nodded slowly, going back to listlessly poking at the softness of the futon. 

Kai nodded and stepped outside, loathe to leave the blond alone, but finding his need to locate Aoi more pressing. The guard arrived just as he closed the door and he turned towards him, looking him dead in the eye. 

“Do not let  _ anybody _ in this door except me. If somebody tries,” he paused, “kill them.” The guard bowed and said, “Yes, Emperor sama,” feeling the weight of the emperor’s command. Kai quickly left to go find out about Kodachi. It was his only lead. 

“Report!” Kai commanded the first guard he saw, knowing they should all be searching for the advisor as per his instruction. The guard looked nervous.

“We are scouring the castle and grounds, but none has yet located Kodachi.” The guard bowed, nervous that his hyde might be on the line with the way the emperor was acting this evening.

Kai’s jaw clenched in frustration and he issued an order. “I want all the royal guards looking for him!”

The man scurried off to relay his order and Kai passed several guards in the hallways he stalked through with purpose. If he couldn’t find the advisor or the guard he had assigned to follow him, then he had another task. As much as it pained him that he wasn’t going to be the one searching for either of them, he knew his guards would be far more efficient if he left it to them. They were many and he was merely one, and if he went off on his own they may not even find him in a reasonable amount of time after they located Kodachi or the guard ordered to tail him. 

He needed this to happen as soon as possible. For all he knew, Aoi was suffering at the hands of the advisor right now! Judging from the dried blood and bruises that he had seen marring Uruha’s pale skin, he couldn’t imagine Aoi, with his often unfiltered thoughts, would be in better condition. Not to mention the degree to which Uruha had been starved. 

Kai shuddered as he thought of how the blond looked. Even now, safe and sound under the protection of Kai’s personal guard, the emperor feared he might not make it. Aoi was still out there, who knows where, probably feeling hopeless, and helpless, and lost without Uruha. 

He gritted his teeth and shook his head. He was doing the best thing he could for the brunet, even if he was feeling helpless as he allowed others to search for his advisor. He blew a breath out slowly as he walked, bringing his focus back to the task at hand. 

Uruha and Aoi had said that they worked in the kitchen as children when they first arrived and that they’d had someone taking care of them. That person must have spent many years protecting them, their own neck on the line. It struck Kai that it was very unlikely that Uruha or Aoi, should he survive as long as it took Kai to find him, would want to spend very much time with him. 

He was certain they both must resent him, and he understood. He blamed himself for Uruha’s condition and knew that Aoi couldn’t be much better off. But, he needed them cared for, and he could think of no person more trustworthy (counterintuitively) than the person who’d hidden them for so many years. 

Hopefully, that person was still working in his palace. It hadn’t been  _ that _ many years since the boys had parted with him for the concubine’s court. He stopped in his tracks. He had been headed for the kitchen but hadn’t thought of a single pertinent thing to ask anyone who worked there. He had no idea who he was looking for in the kitchen, but, in the concubine court, the two had definitely had at least one ally. 

He had spoken to her when he was there last time. The time when the boys had distracted him with their incautious flirtations, drawing his attention in a way it had never been drawn before...’

He mentally slapped himself. Now one of those concubines was suffering unknown trials and his mind was wandering down  _ that _ path. He needed to focus!

The emperor turned and began walking down a new hallway, his direction decided. It didn’t take him long at all to reach the concubines’ quarters and he waited impatiently for the matrons as they fluttered about in the anteroom of their wing while allegedly summoning Ito san. 

When she finally arrived she sank into a low bow. He quickly waved her up; he didn’t want to waste time with pleasantries.

“How can I help you, Emperor sama?”

“The concubines you valued when last we met, where did they come from?” He cut right to the chase.

She blinked, surprised that he was asking. “They were scullery maids in the kitchen, Emperor sama.”

He waved a hand in front of him as if to clear the air of the answer. “Yes, but specifically who was taking care of them? Who allowed you to take them into the concubine court?”

She blinked again and her face screwed up as she tried to remember. He waited impatiently for her. She tapped her bottom lip as she thought and he counted the number of taps before she seemed to suddenly remember.

“Ah!” She waved her finger in the air, looking excited before she gave him a name. He thanked her politely and said goodbye curtly. Without further ado, he went to the kitchens, sweeping along the hallways as the few people that were awake scrambled out of his way, bowing in his wake. 

He entered the kitchen, noting that there was a startling amount of people in there. They must have been preparing for breakfast already. How long had Kai been awake? He hadn’t felt the hours pass in his frantic search for Uruha and Aoi. They all stopped as they saw him and bowed. 

“Can I help you, emperor sama?” One of the workers came forward and bowed. 

Kai nodded and the rest turned back to their tasks, throwing the occasional curious look over their shoulder. 

“I’m looking for Sato san. Is he here,” Kai asked. 

The man that had greeted him nodded enthusiastically, looking pleased that he could help, but then stopped and shook his head. 

Kai raised a brow. 

“Well, he’s here, but he’s outside right now, gathering ingredients. He should be right back in but I can go get him if you prefer…”

Kai shook his head. “If he won’t be long, I will wait.” An idea suddenly occurred to him. “Could I get a bowl of miso soup?”

The man smiled and bowed, moving off at once to attend to the emperor’s request. He returned in short order, handing him a tray with a bowl and a spoon. Kai thanked the man and told him to send Sato san to his wing when he came back in, turning and walking out the door through which he had walked in. 

He navigated the halls carefully, trying not to spill any of the steaming liquid that filled the bowl. When he reached his wing, his personal guard opened the door for him, and he walked in. He set the tray down on one of the low tables and walked to the door behind which the blond’s room lay. 

He knocked softly on the wooden frame and slid open the door. He turned around and grabbed the tray, balancing it once more as he brought it into the room. He set it on one for the small tables near the sleeping blond. 

Once he had set it down, he returned to the other room, retrieving a candle to light the ones in the room. He thought Uruha might like to wake up to some light, rather than the perpetual darkness in which he had been caged. 

The blond was curled up on the edge of the futon, and Kai was grateful it was on the floor for, were it a bed, he would fear that Uruha might roll right off it. He brushed the blond’s hair back with gentle fingers as he looked at his sunken face. 

The blond’s eyelids fluttered, brow furrowed, clearly having a dream. Kai hoped it wasn’t a nightmare but doubted the likelihood of that. In the meager candlelight, he was able to see far more than he had when he’d retrieved him from his cell. 

The blond wasn’t hidden beneath the covers as it was plenty warm in the room, and large swaths of his skin were visible poking out from under the one thin blanket he had on that barely covered him. He looked like he had been brutalized and Kai had no reason to believe he hadn’t been. His bruises were far more vivid than they had been when Kai first noticed them. Whether this was due to the lighting or the sallow skin surrounding them, he didn’t know. 

He also noticed there was a sheen of sweat on the blond’s skin and, just then, Uruha released a wheezing cough. Kai feared that he might be sick. The blond didn’t appear to be in a fit state to fight off any diseases at the moment. 

He gently lifted the blanket off the blond, tucking it over the blond up to his shoulders. He bit his lip as he brushed a hand gently over Uruha’s brow, smoothing it. The blond didn’t twitch, so he felt safe enough and gently shuffled Uruha’s far too light body closer to the middle of the futon.

He took a few steps away from Uruha, moving to the door and closing it gently just as the door to his quarters opened again, allowing a palace guard entrance. Kai walked over quickly. 

“Emperor sama!” The man bowed and rose; Kai recognized him as the man he had set to watching the advisor. He walked up and gripped the man’s arm.

“Where is he?” Kai skipped right to the point. 

“He left the castle and went to the old keep just north of here. The one that’s crumbling.” The man winced as Kai’s grip tightened on his arm and the emperor immediately released him, realizing what he’d done. 

“Run ahead and have my steed brought around to the palace steps.”

The man did as instructed, running off and disappearing from Kai’s view. The emperor wasted no time, following him out the door. His earlier guard was still standing outside and he left him with a strict directive to allow entrance to nobody but himself, as he had before.

Kai hastened down the hallways to the front of the palace, where he gave the same orders to his guards as he had last time, mounting his own horse and taking off down the road in a different direction than the previous time. He pushed the animal to its top speed, body nearly flat on its back, as he sped away from his palace. 

Aoi had been right under his nose this whole time, a mere ten-minute carriage ride away, and yet, the brunet might be dead by the time Kai arrived to try to rescue him. 

* * *

Aoi was startled as he heard steps on the short flight of stairs that led to his cell. It had long since gotten dark, and this was the wrong day for the advisor’s visit. At least, he thought it was. It was very difficult to keep track of time when every day was the same and all the sleepless nights blended together. 

A moment later, his cell door was flung open and a figure stepped in, a lit torch in his hand as he turned to close the cell door behind him. Aoi blinked in the suddenly glaring light, trying to let his eyes adjust.

His body was hanging by the wrists, his legs lacking the strength to hold him up at this point. The sleep deprivation had been a daily occurrence and, though Aoi had found it strange that there was no noise after dark today, he hadn’t questioned it. He was unable to worry about it when he had a chance of catching some sleep. 

So, the realization dawned on him as he saw that the person who entered his cell was Kodachi, as always, but he wasn’t flanked by guards. In fact, from what Aoi could hear and see, he was very much alone this time. The two odd things in a row set off warning bells in his head. Something was off, but his brain had stopped working along with his legs. He was just too tired to contemplate it. 

The man approached, his eyes looking crazed in the light of the torch that he put in the bracket nearby to where Aoi was chained up. The brunet didn’t say anything as the advisor stepped closer to him, but he did flatten himself as much as he could against the wall. 

“Hello, Aoi chan,” Kodachi greeted, his tone oily. “How are you feeling about my proposition today?”

Aoi couldn’t stop his eyes from rolling. “How many times do I have to tell you? I won’t kill Kai! And I won’t be with you! You’re disgusting!”

The advisor’s eye twitched but then he smiled. “That’s too bad. That blond will no longer be around to protect you from your big mouth. I told you he was dead,” he took a step back and shook out a cloth he was holding in his hand, “and here’s the proof.”

Aoi’s eyes widened, tears gathering as he saw the unfurled cloth. It was Uruha’s kimono. It was tattered, torn, dirty, and bloody in some places.

“I had it removed from his corpse in an effort to convince you. The emperor _let_ him _die_ in here. He _allowed_ , nay, _encouraged_ this.” The advisor tossed the clothes to the ground, Aoi’s tearful eyes following their descent. “And yet, you won’t agree to my protection.” The man held his arms out wide by his sides, as if helpless to understand Aoi’s motives.

Aoi didn’t respond, eyes still glued to the fallen kimono. Uruha was dead? He felt his world collapsing inward. The blond was the anchor in his life, the reason he’d continued fighting. With this new development, he had nothing left. He could feel himself breaking. His life wasn’t worth fighting for if he couldn’t have Uruha in it. 

He felt the advisor’s bony fingers ghost up his thigh, his senses lighting up in disgust at the touch. Even if he didn’t have the will to live, he wouldn’t let anyone else touch him like that. That right belonged to Uruha and Kai alone. He despised himself for considering Kai because even if the man hadn’t asked for this, he had let it happen. But he couldn’t let go of the time all three had spent together. It had been so beautiful, so perfect, so the  _ opposite  _ of what Kodachi was making him feel. He twitched his leg weakly away from the touch. 

“Something’s different,” he said, trying to distract the man from touching him again. “No guards with you today?”

“Shut up,” the man snarled and slapped him across the face. 

Aoi’s head snapped to the side but he straightened it out to face the advisor again as a plan set in. “Let me guess, you didn’t have time to call them, did you? Kai came home today, didn’t he? What, is he on his way here right now?”

Kodachi’s expression grew more and more twisted as Aoi went on and he grew ever more angry. He stiffened when Aoi asked him if Kai had returned and then seemed to completely lose his composure when Aoi guessed that the emperor was on his way. 

“Shut up!” Kodachi smacked him across the face again. “Shut up! Shut up! Shut UP!” Each demand was punctuated by a slap, the last a violent punch to Aoi’s stomach, causing him to curl up. Even though the blows weren’t particularly strong, Aoi was too skinny to deal with such damage. 

“Think you know everything do you? Think you’re too good for the likes of me?” As he said this, Kodachi tore at random pieces of tattered clothing adorning Aoi’s body, ripping at the ties to reveal all of his body. In the end, only his arms were left to hold up the clothes. “The emperor deemed you worthy so you think you’re above me now, is that it? Well, let me tell you if you think that, you’ve got another thing coming.” His hands slammed down on Aoi’s thighs, lifting them up and spreading them apart so he could step between them. 

Kodachi leaned forward, his breath in Aoi’s ear as he whispered, working Aoi’s undergarments loose. “If you’re good enough for the emperor then you must be pretty good. I’m going to get a piece of this!” The advisor pressed his thin fingers into Aoi’s butt cheeks, pushing his now uncovered groin into his own clothed one.

Aoi struggled to wiggle away, still not willing to believe this was real. This gross old man wanted a piece of him? He wouldn’t allow it, but he didn’t believe the man would try much more than he already had. He felt the advisor’s slimy tongue lick up the side of his neck and then his teeth on his earlobe before he spoke. 

“You must really be something for the emperor to want you even though you’re a man.”

Aoi shook his head, struck by sudden inspiration, and looked down on the man. “I knew you were gay.”

“Silence!” The advisor screeched, slapping him across the face again. He then dragged his fingernails down Aoi’s chest, aiming specifically for the brunet’s nipples and then moving his hands down further. He grabbed the concubine's ass again as Aoi began to pull away in earnest from the man’s touch. 

“So plump! Just like a girl’s!”

Aoi shuddered at the comment. “Stop!” He jerked his hips in an attempt to move the man away so he could close his legs and froze, eyes widening in fear. The advisor was hard! Aoi had felt it against his own soft groin. 

“No,” his whisper went unheeded as the man put his tongue to work on Aoi’s exposed collarbone. 

“It’s ok for you to admit you want this, it’s just us two here,” the advisor cackled madly.

“No!” Aoi began to squirm in earnest as the man pressed his hips closer, rubbing his front against him.

“Don’t worry! I want to take you like the emperor has had you!” He reached up and unlocked one of Aoi’s shackles, easily turning him so the front of his body was pressed against the wall, brushing his clothes aside. “I want to put it in  _ here _ .” He pressed his erection against Aoi’s ass, rubbing it slowly over his crack. 

Aoi’s mind was racing. What could he say, what could he do that might save him from this situation? So he began speaking, saying anything to stop the torment and prevent the disaster he feared most. 

“You really think you’re as good as Kai? You could never measure up! You aren’t worthy of becoming emperor!” 

The advisor reached up to the back of Aoi’s head and smashed his face into the stone wall. “I said shut up!” 

His tone was vile and concentrated and, from what little Aoi could see over his shoulder, his eyes were focused on something at waist level. That was when Aoi heard the soft sound of cloth against cloth and the advisor moved forward. Then, he felt it. 

The advisor’s hard cock was pressed against the cleft of his ass, sandwiched between his cheeks. Aoi fought as hard as he could with his weakened body, the advisor’s hands keeping him pinned to the wall by the shoulder. 

“You think you’ll get away with this?!” His voice was a high pitched shriek as he fought against the advisor who had begun humping against his butt. “You don’t think Kai will find out who killed his father?! You’ll never be half the man he is!”

The man paused in his motions, hands loosening for a moment, allowing Aoi to push him far enough away that his penis wasn’t touching him anymore. 

“...so it  _ was _ you two?” He laughed maniacally. “I knew I’d find you! I’ll show you how much of a man I am! Nobody is coming to save you now!” He pressed the brunet harder against the wall and closed back in. 

Aoi began to scream as he struggled hard as he could, tears pouring from his face as he felt the advisor’s hard flesh back on him, this time pressing against his entrance. 

“No! No, please! Please don’t! Stop! Please!”

* * *

Kai heard it before he could see anything, the distant shouts from the old keep like ice in his veins. He recognized the louder voice to be Aoi’s and he urged his horse even faster towards the source of the noise. He had made it to the crumbling building in record time but, from what he could hear, he might be too late. 

He spotted a set of stairs and dismounted before his horse had fully stopped, practically flying over to them. He could hear all the things being said clearly as he approached.

“-t think Kai will find out who killed his father?! You’ll never be half the man he is!”

Kai stopped dead. That was Aoi’s voice. 

“...so it  _ was _ you two?” A crazy laugh and then, “I knew I’d find you! I’ll show you how much of a man I am! Nobody is coming to save you now!”

There was a scuffle and muffled grunts. And then the screaming started.

“No! No, please!”

Kai wanted to kick himself for stopping, immediately snapped out of his trance by the horrible noise. He raced down the steps, taking them three at a time.

“Please don’t! Stop! Please!”

Aoi’s voice was plaintive and Kai could hear the hiccups and sobs now. He threw the door open when he got to it, his eyes alighting on the scene inside. Aoi was pressed against a wall with the advisor behind him. The man was now looking at him, body turned to face the emperor. Kai could see that his cock was free in the air, hard, and then he couldn’t see anything at all. 

Rage unlike he’d ever felt before consumed him, and he didn’t feel his body begin to move. He didn’t feel anything as he tackled Kodachi to the ground and rolled him over to face him. He didn’t see the fear in the advisor’s terrified face. He didn’t feel anything until his first punch connected with the man’s face. 

Then, he felt all his rage pour out through his fists and he couldn’t stop, didn’t want to stop, as he beat the advisor’s face, punching him over and over again. He felt grim satisfaction as he heard the unmistakable sound of bone breaking when he cracked his fist across the old man’s jaw. He felt nothing but savage pleasure when the blood started to pour from the advisor’s face enough that it flung back in flecks onto himself. 

He didn’t stop when he saw the advisor’s teeth fly out, didn’t stop when he saw the man pass out, and didn’t register the sting of his split knuckles as he continued beating the man long after he was sure the man couldn't feel anything at all. 

But then Aoi spoke, his voice small, uncertain. “Kai?”

And Kai snapped out of it. He looked down at the man that could only be described as such by the body that was still half under the emperor’s as his face was completely mutilated. The man was beyond recognition, the blood bubbling from his mouth was the only indication that he was still breathing. 

Kai quickly turned his attention to Aoi, who was slumped against the wall, hanging by one arm. The emperor rushed over, glad the key was in the lock of the open shackle and easy to access. He snatched it up and quickly fit it into the lock of the cuff closed over Aoi’s wrist, and wrapping a solid arm around the brunet as he slumped to the ground, released. 

Kai didn’t allow Aoi to fall all the way, catching him up into his arms. His eyes were open but glossy as he studied Kai’s face. The barest of smiles hinted on his dry lips.

“Kai.” He said the emperor’s name in a tone of relief and then passed out, head drooping back over Kai’s arm. 

The emperor held Aoi gently in his arms, drawing his clothes back over him before starting up the stairs. It was easy to see in the torchlight that Aoi had suffered many, many, lacerations and injuries. His skin was swollen and red all down his sides and he had so many bruises that there was hardly any clear skin left. His face was no exception and Kai noted his split lip as he walked up the stairs.

The one good thing Kai could say for Aoi was that he was slightly less thin than Uruha was, and seemed to have more fight in him. Though, when he considered that situation, he almost couldn’t stop himself from going back to finish the job. Only the frail form in his arms stopped him from doing so.

When he arrived at the top of the stairs he found his guards were already present. Upon taking in his state, though, two of them rushed forward.

“Emperor sama, are you alright?”

“Emperor sama! You’re hurt!”

They spoke simultaneously and Kai ignored them both, issuing orders instead. “At the bottom of those stairs is a traitor. He has committed treason and I want him imprisoned until I say otherwise. He is to be isolated and not to be trusted under any circumstances. I expect around the clock guard on him. 

“Understood!” They both bowed and headed down the stairs to collect their quarry. 

Kai walked toward the carriage and was once again addressed by his guards. “Emperor sama...is she dead?”

He didn’t answer.

“Emperor sama.” Another guard walked forward, reaching for Aoi. “You shouldn’t be touching that, let us-” his hands had almost reached the concubine when Kai snapped.

“Get your hands off!” The emperor drew Aoi’s body closer to himself. The guards both backing away as he stepped into the carriage, settling Aoi gently on the seat across from him.

“Take us home!” The carriage door closed and shortly thereafter they began to move. Kai watched Aoi carefully, partly to ensure the brunet didn’t roll off the seat and partly because he couldn’t take his eyes off him. 

He couldn’t stop thinking about what had just happened. Aoi had nearly been  _ raped _ and Kai didn’t know if this was even the first time. What if Kai hadn’t arrived in time? How could he let this happen? Not just to Aoi, but to Uruha as well. The two people he’d come to consider most precious to him in the short time he’d known them had both been damaged by his presence. 

They had both suffered so much, and it was preventable! If only he had believed them when they told him! He knew it had taken a lot for them to come forward! How could he have continuously doubted them at every turn? He would be lucky if they ever even wanted to look at him again.

Kai’s shoulders hunched as he buried his face in his hands. Aoi had nearly been unwillingly taken and it was all his fault! Uruha was so frail he could be knocked over by a feather! He let out a few strangled sobs as the carriage rolled on, drowning out the noise, before taking a few gasping breaths and pulling himself together. 

He didn’t deserve to cry. He wasn’t even going through what they had while under his protection. He couldn’t blame them if they never forgave him; it would be the least of what he deserved. Nevertheless, he would protect them until they no longer wanted or needed his protection. He would never allow something like this to happen again. 

Aoi didn’t stir the entire ride, and by the time they arrived at the palace, the horizon was turning pink with the coming sunrise. When the carriage stopped, Kai gathered Aoi’s limp form in his arms and stepped down. 

“Get my personal medic to my wing and go find Sato san from the kitchens. He should have been sent to my wing but if he isn't he will be there and I need you to send him to my wing as soon as possible,” Kai barked as he quickly carried Aoi’s still form up the palace steps. The guards ran off to fulfill his orders as he continued in. 

He didn’t stop or slow until he reached the door to the room where Uruha was. His personal guard bowed as he saw him, opening the door for him to enter. 

When Kai came in this time, Uruha was sitting up, looking anxiously towards the door. He was confused when he saw Kai until he saw Aoi, and his face lit up before he seemed to realize the brunet’s condition and it fell again. 

Kai walked forward and laid Aoi on the futon gently. Uruha looked between Aoi and Kai. 

“He’s...dead?” His eyes, so prominent in his sunken face, brimmed with tears.

Kai shook his head quickly. “No! No. He’s just unconscious.”

Uruha’s eyes snapped from the brunet laying on the futon, relief sharp in his features when he looked at him, to the emperor, eyes changing to smoldering anger. 

“What did you do to him?” 

The blond’s voice was a whisper but Kai heard clearly in the silence of the room. He winced and shook his head. 

“I didn’t, he just-”

“This is your fault!” Uruha cut him off, his voice rising in volume. “We’re here because of you! This happened to us because you didn’t believe us! And now Aoi-” He broke off, tears beginning to fall from his eyes, his teeth bared. “Look at him! He isn’t waking up and it’s your fault!”

Kai stayed quiet, letting Uruha go on. It was no more than he deserved. 

“You let this happen! All those weeks ago Aoi got that burn on his leg! You remember that burn?!”

Kai nodded. He hadn’t thought anything of it at the time, but now he wondered if he should have. 

“He got that from Kodachi! That hideous man was trying to touch him and he knocked hot soup all over himself! If you’d bothered to ask you would have  _ known _ ! The advisor has burns all over his arm from that time!

Kai closed his eyes, his regrets doubling. He could have prevented this entirely had he been more attentive. Kodachi had touched Aoi before this night! How much had he let pass right under his nose? 

“You don’t even deserve to look at him!” Uruha crawled over Aoi’s body, putting out a frail hand to shove at the emperor’s chest. “Get out! Just leave!”

“I-I”m so so -” Kai began but was cut off by Uruha.

“Go! You don’t get to be here!” His frail hand beat at Kai’s chest, causing no physical damage, but Kai felt it in his heart. 

He was afraid Uruha might hurt himself if it kept up, so, despite desperately wanting to be there to see Aoi wake up, he backed up, sliding out the door as Uruha hovered protectively over Aoi on all fours. The look he had focused on the emperor was still seething with barely controlled rage. Kai feared he may have permanently broken the bond they used to share and he felt his heart clench. Still, he felt it was the least of what he deserved. 

He closed the door gently behind him and then sat there a moment, fists clenched on his thighs. A knock at the main door of his wing pulled him from his reverie. He stood and walked to it, sliding it open gently. 

On the other side stood one of his personal guards, who presented his personal physician and a man Kai didn’t know. The emperor first spoke briefly to the physician, whom he sent into the room ahead while he spoke to the man he didn’t know. 

“Emperor sama.” The man bowed, looking at him cautiously. 

“I’ve heard that you took care of Aoi and Uruha when they first came to the castle. Is that so?’

The man nodded. “It is.”

Kai contemplated him a moment. “I thought I could trust you to take care of them once again. They are behind that door. Anything they want, they can have, but right now they just need someone to help them. They need someone they trust.”

The man looked at him suspiciously and nodded slowly. “Ok. What do you need me to do?”

“If there is anything that they need or want, just tell me and I shall obtain it. In the meantime, just help them. They’re both...well you’ll see once you get in there. Please, I’m trusting you to take care of them.”

The man bowed deeply to Kai as the emperor let him into the room where Aoi, Uruha, and the physician were. Kai sat at one of the low tables outside the room, waiting to hear from anyone within. The wait seemed interminable, but, in reality, it was a fairly short time before the physician reappeared. Kai stood to get the full report. 

The man looked grave as he delivered it. “It’s not good, emperor sama. We were able to get the brown haired one up and moving again, but he is covered in wounds. He will need tinctures, clean water, and attention to keep from infection. The blond is much the same, but he is sick. It seems to be in his lungs but he will need to be kept warm and drink lots of water.

“Emperor sama, they are both as starved as I’ve ever seen, though the blond is worse off, and I know you will want to ply them with food, but you should not. If they try to eat too much at once, they will vomit. Small, mostly liquid meals, are what they should be given for at least two days. Their appetites will return with time, but there is something worse.

“Their mental state is unstable. They seem to have been through a lot, and, as I’m sure you know from being around soldiers, this could cause some problems. It is best not to push them into anything they aren’t comfortable with and they seemed to react poorly to touch.

“They need rest and fresh bandages every day until they stop bleeding. Apply a healing tincture to their open wounds and then let everything scab over in the air. Be gentle with them, Emperor sama, and they will come out of this in time.”

Kai nodded, relieved to hear that Aoi was, figuratively, back on his feet. He thanked the physician and went to the entrance to his wing. He spoke briefly to his guard, ordering medical supplies and soup delivered. He waited patiently for the items and when they arrived he brought them to the door of the room in which the boys were staying. 

He knocked and entered, only not ignored by Sato san, who bowed. He arranged the soup and bandages along a side table, glancing at Aoi and Uruha, his heart flooded with relief as he was able to see for himself that Aoi was well. 

He didn’t linger too long, wanting to give them their space. He realized, with the weight of the boys’ imminent death off his shoulders, that he had some work to do. Kodachi needed to talk. He highly doubted the man was clever enough to come up with any schemes on his own and he needed to weed the traitors out of his court. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Kai is torn between waving his big...emperor energy around and being a boiffie in the doghouse. He blames himself for everything and just wants them to be okay. TTATT


	15. Fracture Reduction

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fracture Reduction: the process of manipulating the ends of an already broken bone to be able to fit together again. 
> 
> The bonds between them are so broken that they can only break further before they can attempt to heal back together.

Over the next two days, Kai went about his day with a sense of remorse, internally blaming himself for the state that the boys were in. He tried to give them space, but the distance was eating at him slowly. Would things ever be as they were? Could he ever make it up to them for the damage sustained as a result of his doubt?

Kai shook his head as he pondered to himself while sitting at breakfast with his stepmother and fiancée. He’d barely touched his food. He just couldn’t get his mind off the two boys who lay broken in a room in his wing of the castle, too emotionally far for him to even come near them. 

The emperor gazed around the table, idly looking at the feast laid out for him that he couldn’t seem to find any joy in, not like he used to when Uruha and Aoi were around to make a mess of things. The way they would simply exist, so carefree around him instead of the overdramatics of formality from every other twittering fool that constantly surrounded him. He looked at the neatly placed stack of strawberries and thought about how much Aoi would love to be the first to choose the perfect one or how Uruha would constantly threaten him to stop overindulging before he was put on a diet again.

Kai smiled inwardly at the memory and he suddenly got an idea. He stood up, startling the others at the table mid-chew, and called over a servant, ordering him to get a tray. He selected a variety of the best items on the table, directing the servant to place them in neat order on the tray. Kai did all this while the others watched in confusion. 

“Follow me,” he directed the servant, and left without so much as a second look back at the ones he was leaving behind. He led the servant down a series of corridors and then turned to grab the tray as they neared the entrance to his wing. 

“Wait here.” The servant did as commanded, confused whether he should really allow the emperor himself to carry a tray of food, but following orders as no other option seemed to present itself. 

Kai walked through the door and headed for the bedroom he’d designated for Aoi and Uruha. Upon arriving, he was happy to see Sato san, who appeared to be leaving. The man bowed deeply and offered to help, but Kai simply asked him to hold the door open for him. He knew he wasn’t welcomed there but couldn’t help the need to see them, even if it meant lowering himself to bringing them food for now to get a glimpse of them and assess their conditions.

The last time he’d seen the two, Uruha had been crying over Aoi’s body. They’d both been filthy with dried blood and muck covering them in patches, littered in cuts and bruises, and rail-thin within an inch of their lives. Kai closed his eyes trying to escape the image that inevitably played in his mind’s eye. The emotion, once again, rose to his throat, but he fought to swallow it down. He didn’t deserve to feel that pain. It was his fault that everything happened. He breathed deeply and entered the room.

The boys were sitting on the large futon. It seemed that Uruha was helping Aoi rebandage his wrist. They were much cleaner from the grime, but now Kai could see the bruises marring their once glowing faces. The clothes he’d left for them to wear now barely clung onto their gaunt, skeletal forms. He quickly looked away the moment they both looked up and went about setting the tray on a nearby small table. 

Uruha barely glanced in his direction before returning his eyes to the bandage he was applying around Aoi’s tattered wrist. Aoi’s wide eyes remained glued on Kai in surprise as he watched the emperor move the old tray out of the way to make room for the fresh food. They’d barely touched the last one they’d received, being unable to eat much after nearly a month of imprisonment. 

“Kai?” Aoi felt the sudden need to confirm that he wasn’t hallucinating. The memory of the last time he’d seen Kai was fuzzy, but he remembered glimpses of being held by him and then the sensation he’d felt, like he was finally either dead or home. 

“Is there anything you two need?” He looked up at the two and didn’t fail to notice how Uruha refused to look up at him, while Aoi just stared back with a sad look on his face, and shook his head ‘no’. Kai simply nodded in response and took his leave. Once outside the door, he leaned on the wall, allowing his head to thud back. It was worse than he’d thought. He feared the two would never be the same. They’d been broken physically, mentally, and emotionally. There was no way they’d ever be the same and it was all because Kai hadn’t believed their words. 

The emperor headed out, handing the old tray to the servant waiting outside the corridor and taking his leave. He was far too overwhelmed but he knew he wouldn’t rest until he’d uprooted every traitor and conspirator in his court. He wouldn't rest until he brought justice to Uruha and Aoi. 

The moment Kai was gone Aoi crawled out of the futon with much effort and headed for the low table. He was curious to see what Kai had brought. There was a small mountain of perfect looking strawberries and he couldn’t wait to eat them all. Everything looked so delicious.

“Look Uruha! These are so plump and perfect.” Uruha slowly followed after Aoi. He could hear the excitement in the brunet’s weakened voice and his chest tightened as tears threatened to roll down his face again. Since the moment Kai had walked through the door holding Aoi’s limp body two days ago, he’d been unable to stop crying sporadically. 

He cried tears of hurt and joy that his lover and best friend was still alive. Everything that Aoi did that was so uniquely Aoi, made him emotional. He had been convinced that he’d never see him again, that he’d never hear him laugh, or see him smile. He hadn’t been able to protect him; he’d been helpless. He still blamed himself for trusting Kai with his heart and, more importantly, with his most precious person. 

Uruha watched the younger man reach for the fruit in still sluggish movements and put it in his mouth, quickly reaching for another fruit and doing the same before he’d even had a chance to finish the first.

“Slow down. You’ll make yourself sick again,” he scolded Aoi, who breathed out a long breath through his nose (because his mouth was occupied). 

“It’s so good!” The words were nearly unintelligible through all the food packed into the brunet's mouth. Uruha could only understand because he'd spent so much time in Aoi's company while they were both eating.

Uruha smiled in response and dug in. 

It took a few days before the two could manage to eat any substantial amount of anything. Having been starved for so long that even the smallest amount would threaten to make them sick enough to purge everything, as Aoi found out on the first day. 

Over the next few days, Sato san visited them daily, bringing them food, clean clothes, and anything the boys needed to keep them comfortable. He checked on the progress of their healing wounds and offered news of the outside world. 

The boys found out about the attempted assassination of the emperor. They were shocked and, despite the mixed feelings they had towards the emperor at the moment, very angry to hear this news. They were outraged at the the rumors that claimed they may have had something to do with it, since they’d disappeared for the time when Kodachi had held them captive. 

When they thought about the timeline of events, a few things seemed to click in the place. Right after they told the emperor about the assassination of his father, he had almost been killed himself. He must have been confused and scared. But, that still didn’t excuse him from responsibility for what had happened to them. If he had trusted them in the first place, the assassination attempt on him may never have occurred. 

It also seemed that most believed Aoi and Uruha had been executed as a result of their role in the attempt. This gave them little pause. It didn’t really matter if everyone thought they were dead, anyway, as there were very few people they cared about or who cared about them, in return. 

The rumors ran wild with stories about them being spies from a neighboring kingdom that was starting a coup. There were also, and this made the boys laugh, rumors that said one of them was pregnant and the queen mother had sent for both to be put to death so that no one would dare contradict her when she said that was never the case. It wasn’t as if they’d put that past her, but the idea of either of them being pregnant was positively ridiculous. Sato san wiped tears of laughter from his eyes as he explained his own reaction to hearing that particular rumor

Every day there was some new gossip. At the very least, this was entertaining for the boys to hear about, but it also made them feel more connected to the world. They hadn’t realized how much they missed being part of it again. The only thing that truly bothered them was the attempt on Kai’s life. 

For a bit, they cursed themselves for caring at all after everything they’d been put through without him doing anything as this went on right under his nose. Aoi was more angered by the assassination attempt, as he was the closer of the two to forgiving the emperor. 

Uruha couldn't forgive himself for being angry about it and was unable to forgive the emperor for what he had done. He couldn't forgive himself for trusting Kai with his most precious person. He had never been so angry with himself in his life than he was for making that mistake

Kai visited the boys regularly as well, often merely to ask if there was anything they needed. Each time, they simply shook their heads and he would walk away. Still, the action alone carried the weight of his guilt. On one occasion, Kai returned to his chambers after visiting them and couldn’t stop the tears of grief and anger from coursing down his cheeks. He couldn’t stand for what had been done to the boys. He vowed to set things right, to somehow make it all up to them. The solution to this dilemma all circled back to finding each and every usurper that had conspired against him and his father. Kai pulled himself together, wiping his tears and leaving his rooms with a newfound determination to continue his search. 

Over the next few days, a routine was set. Sato san came into their room and brought the boys food, ointments, and anything they needed. He also helped them rebandage their still healing wounds. A tub was rolled into the room later in the evenings to allow them to wash up. Kai continued his short visits, often before evening, letting them know he was back in the wing and that security had been increased for the evening to help give them peace of mind and hopefully allow the two to sleep.

But, while Kai was doing all that was humanly possible to help the two feel at ease, it was nearly impossible after all they’d been through. While their bruises had begun to heal, showing different colors with the different stages of healing, the mental damage was not so easily remedied. 

On one particular night, while they slept, Uruha woke up to Aoi thrashing about as he slept, a small distance away from him. He couldn’t understand for the life of him why, after all the separation, Aoi still seemed reluctant to sleep too close to the blond.

At first, he’d thought it was simply from habit after being just a short distance from each other in the concubine quarters, and he was fine with that. But, as the days wore on, he noticed the way the younger man would flinch out of the way whenever the blond was too close to him, or came into contact with him, even by accident.

The only touches he seemed to allow lately were the ones he was fully aware of when he was fully awake and Uruha helped him rebandage. The thought that the flinches might be deliberate killed the blond inside, and he refused to believe that it could be the case. Instead, he tried to convince himself that he was imagining things. He managed for a while. He was able to pretend it was nothing, until that evening when some of his suppressed thoughts became real in a way that no longer allowed his denial. 

“Aoi.” He tried to call the brunet out of his nightmare carefully. “Aoi.” He tried again, a bit louder this time, to no avail. Aoi wouldn’t wake. Finally, Uruha resorted to practically shaking him several times until he was awake.

“Uru!” Aoi woke up with a scream, pushing off the blond’s hold before he was even really awake. Upon becoming fully aware, he stopped fighting and held his chest, breathing deeply and trying to calm his heart as he realized that he had only been dreaming. But, before he could catch his breath or still his racing heart, multiple guards rushed into the room, swords at the ready. 

Aoi didn’t have time to think, only react, and he quickly pulled Uruha to him, causing them both to tumble to the corner, taking down a nearby table in the process. He noticed the splintered off leg of the now broken piece of furniture, and quickly grabbed it, shoving Uruha to the ground behind him. He would not go down so easily this time. 

Seconds later, Kai barged into the room, katana in hand, and froze, assessing the scene before him. His guards stood facing in every direction in protective stances, guarding the two men huddled together in the corner.

“Step aside,” he commanded the guards, pushing his way through them. He carefully approached the two on the floor, dropping his sword upon seeing the fear and determination in Aoi’s eyes as they followed his movements. 

“It’s okay.” He whispered as if speaking to a frightened kitten, taking a step closer. Aoi tensed. “You’re safe,” Kai tried again. He stepped cautiously closer. Aoi just clutched Uruha’s arm tighter while raising his makeshift weapon. Kai set his katana on the floor and then raised his hands in surrender. 

“Aoi, it’s me, it’s okay.” Aoi made no move to back down. His eyes darted around frantically, looking for an escape, but ready to fight should it come to that. Uruha noticed that all the guards had their backs to them and had from nearly the moment they rushed in. They weren’t here to attack, but to protect. He reached carefully to Aoi to try to help bring him back from whatever trauma he was experiencing. 

“Aoi.” He’d barely touched the brunet before Aoi moved, turning on him and straddling the blond’s prone form, ready to plunge the sharp wood into his best friend’s chest. 

“No. No! NO!” Kai rushed to Aoi and tackled him to the ground, pulling the piece of wood out of his hands and discarding it. In a flash, Uruha was on him.

“Don’t touch him!” The blond yelled, and managed to get in one good blow to his cheekbone before two guards were restraining him, as well. Kai recoiled from the punch, putting his hand up to signal to the guard to stand down. He pulled back slowly with his hands still on a struggling Aoi beneath him. Although the emperor’s reign had been predominantly peaceful, he’d been around enough fighting and soldiers that he had seen the effect war had on them. This was no different. He lifted himself slowly from the brunet.

“I’m going to let you go, alright? No one is going to hurt you, you have my word.” He slowly, but surely, released the younger man and watched him scurry away. He signaled for the guards to release Uruha as well. 

The blond rushed to Aoi, helping him off the floor and pulling him back into the corner, holding his trembling body close.

“Everybody out!” Kai commanded as he saw the two in need of privacy. “And get rid of this.” he reached for the broken table, handing it to a passing guard. Once the last guard had exited the room, Aoi broke down, crying in Uruha’s arms, suddenly realizing what he had almost done. 

“It’s okay Aoi. It’s alright. We’re okay.” Kai heard Uruha’s reassuring words and watched as the blond gently rocked the younger man in his arms before he walked out of the room, sliding the door closed behind him. 

Inside the room, Aoi’s sobbing only increased as he held on to his best friend, having already killed him in his mind. 

“I’m sorry,” he wailed. “I’m so sorry!” 

“It’s alright, nothing happened.” Uruha rubbed gentle circles on his back and kissed his head as Aoi buried his face in his chest, sobbing uncontrollably. There wasn’t anything the blond could do. Once again, he was powerless to help or fix Aoi. 

Tears streamed down the blond’s face as he held Aoi tightly in his arms. There wasn’t anything to say. They both knew well the torture they’d endured together, but feared what the other had been through when they had been separated. Although it destroyed Uruha to even imagine the things that had been done to Aoi, he couldn’t bring himself to ask the man about it. 

Instead, he held his love while they sat on the floor in the corner of the room like they had every night that they spent together in captivity. He held him until the brunet cried himself to sleep. Still, Uruha fought his own exhaustion, gently rubbing Aoi’s back as he continued to sob long after he’d fallen asleep. 

When morning came, Sato san was surprised to find the two boys sleeping in the corner, but didn’t wake them. He could only imagine what the two were going through and thought it was best to let them wake on their own. Their position reminded him of when they were two children that were brought to him by his close friend. When they were brought to him that night, they had already experienced loss at a young age, only to experience it again when Tanaka san had been murdered. He had never told them what had happened, but he believed that, as they got older, they had surely figured it out.

He recalled peering into the cupboard where they slept the night after having received the news, to check on them. He’d seen two innocent creatures clinging to each other for dear life. They had been resilient then, and he believed firmly that the two would make it out of this, too. It would take a while, but he had no doubt that they would come out stronger, as they had previously. 

He sat their things neatly in the room and closed the door quietly. It might take time, but they would recover. Of that, he was certain.

Aoi woke up when the light entered the room and traveled far enough to reach his face. He blinked slowly awake. His eyes still burning and his whole body protesting as he tried to straighten up. He noticed, then, that he was still sitting on the floor and still clinging to Uruha, who sat against the wall with his head lolled uncomfortably to the side. 

Aoi blinked again. His eyelids felt heavy and his lungs hurt from all the crying he’d done. Yet, somehow, he felt lighter. Since they’d been reunited, he hadn’t cried. He’d watched Uruha lose it more than once, but he hadn’t. He’d felt almost numb. He didn’t want to think of the things that had been done to him, the things he imagined them doing to Uruha. He didn’t want to acknowledge or talk about them lest he be forced to relive them in his mind. He shook his head to erase the visions that came to mind. 

He raised a hand to touch the blond’s face. He’d barely touched him when he pulled his hand back, troubled that the hand in his view didn’t really look like his own. He no longer wore the bandages on his wrists but the scabs had yet to heal and flake off. Two of his fingernails were still missing and had yet to grow back. 

The brunet lowered his hand and pulled his sleeve over it with the opposite hand, feeling ashamed, when suddenly another hand reached for his, holding it softly. 

“Hey,” Uruha croaked out, puffy eyes blinking in the sunlight. Aoi looked up, trying hard to contain his tears once again as he watched the blond roll his neck with a wince, trying to work out the kinks in his cramped muscles. “What’s wrong?”

Aoi shook his head and bit his lip, trying to keep it together and failing, the first of his tears rolling down his cheek. Uruha looked at him. Aoi had never seemed so helpless and broken as he did now. The blond cradled the brunet’s face in his hands and kissed his forehead. Aoi breathed in hard, pulling himself together again before he moved to stand up while holding Uruha’s hands in his.

“Can we go to sleep on the bed? I’m still really tired.” Uruha nodded in agreement and followed Aoi onto the bed, still keeping his distance from him, for which Aoi was grateful. They lay there for what felt like hours, both simply facing each other, not willing to voice the questions that bothered their minds. 

Aoi’s hand was on the bed in front of him as he lay on his side, and Uruha finally gathered the courage to reach for it. Even if his whole body was in pain from the uncomfortable position they’d been in the night before, he’d do it again, just to be able to hold the brunet in his arms through the night. There was a certain reassurance in being able to feel his presence, to touch him and know that he was alive and breathing right there with him. He needed this reassurance constantly but didn’t know how to tell him. 

The blond rubbed his fingers against his knuckles and noticed how the younger pulled his fingers into a fist as he moved past his knuckles. He tried to pull it away, but Uruha held him still. The truth would hurt, but it needed to be said. It was the only way for the healing to truly begin. They’d seen much of the damage on each other’s bodies by now. It was impossible to hide when they relied on each other to rebandage the wounds. Still, what they didn’t know was how many of the lacerations had been done. 

“Who did this to you?” Uruha moved closer, placing both hands on Aoi’s bunched up one, gently coaxing him to open it up. Reluctantly, the brunet opened his hand for Uruha to see his still missing fingernails, and closed his eyes to keep himself from looking, as if not seeing would make it less real. 

“Don’t look away...I know it’s painful to think about, but it’s over. These will grow back and everything they’ve done to us will heal. There is nothing that they’ve done to us that we can’t take back.” Uruha held his hand firmly as he looked directly into glistening dark eyes. 

“They should’ve killed us.” At that Aoi began crying again and Uruha’s tears overflowed as well.

“They told me they’d killed you.” Aoi sobbed.

“They tried to make me believe all sorts of things too, Aoi.”

“I didn’t believe them. Not for a second.” The brunet managed between sobs. “You promised me! You said that as long as my heart was beating, yours would too. I was alive, so I knew that you must be too.” 

Uruha’s vision became instantly blurry. Leave it to Aoi to still have blind faith in him during even the most impossible of circumstances. He shifted closer to Aoi and wrapped his arms around him. Once again he held him until they both fell asleep.

The sun was nearly setting when Aoi was woken by the intense growling of his empty stomach. He moved to get up, only to realize that he was trapped inside of Uruha’s tight embrace. He could feel the blond’s breath fan against his hair because he was so close. He thought about how there was a time when he would’ve given anything to fall asleep and wake up like this. But, he’d never thought it would be under these conditions. He never thought his wish would be granted while they were as broken as they were. But Uruha was right. It happened and nothing would change that. All they could do was move on from here. 

But how did they do that? Did they just pick up where they left off or did they pick up the pieces and build something new? He looked around to find his way out without waking the blond. When he came face to face with his sleeping face, however, he couldn’t seem to look away. There was the weird yellow discoloration from the bruises on his face and his face was still much sharper than it had been growing up. Fortunately, he could see the progress in his features as the blond was beginning to recover for his starved state. 

His eyes caught sight of his pouty lips. They were a bit pale, unlike he remembered them to be. He wondered if they still tasted the same. He moved closer to kiss them but before he could touch them a wave of nausea hit him and he quickly pulled away from what he was about to do. He pulled out of the blond’s grasp at the same time. 

Just who did he think he was? He had no right to steal kisses from a sleeping person. He felt sick. How could he even think of doing such a thing to an unconscious person? His skin began to crawl, as if he were feeling the unwanted touches from Kodachi. He was suddenly envisioning being chained up and tortured… molested. He could almost feel those grimy hands running down his body like he was just an object, barely even human. 

He felt dirty and began to scratch at his arms to take the feeling away. It wasn’t enough. He began to strip out of his clothes suddenly feeling those filthy hands everywhere. He struggled to take off his clothes in frustration, taking them off layer by layer before tearing at the remains pooled around his waist. That's when Uruha woke up and brought him back to reality.

“Aoi! Aoi! Stop!” 

Uruha held his hands to keep him from tearing and scratching any further. Aoi was breathing hard; angry red marks marred the skin on his arms, neck, and chest. Small droplets of blood began forming along streaks where his nails had clawed at the deepest. He was staring ahead into nothing in particular, only able to see the bad memories playing out in his mind’s eye. The brunet pulled out of Uruha’s grasp, got up, and headed for the table with all of their medical supplies. He doused a strip of cloth with something that would clean the newly created scrapes and began dab at them. 

Aoi hissed as the scraped skin’s first contact with the tincture, but continued anyway. He deserved to feel the burning sensation. He deserved it for the thought he’d had of Uruha. It wasn’t right. 

“Let me help you.” Uruha reached for the cloth but Aoi pulled it out of reach

“I’ve got it.” He didn’t want to be touched; he didn’t deserve to be touched by Uruha’s clean hands. The advisor's voice rang in his head and he shut his eyes tightly, placing both hands on his head, trying to shut it out. 

“Aoi, are you okay?” 

Aoi pulled out of his reach again. He was dirty. Uruha didn’t deserve to touch something so unclean. 

The blond knew better. Something was horribly wrong. He grabbed Aoi by his wrists. 

“Don’t touch me.” It was more of a plea than a command. Uruha didn’t like it.

“Aoi, look up.” 

Aoi continued to look down, he couldn’t let the blond know how dirty he was. He’d never want to embrace him again. 

“Aoi, focus! It’s not real. Whatever it is, it’s not real. Look at me!” He shook him, still holding his wrists as the brunet began hyperventilating, unable to focus on anything. “Hey! Hey! Tell me, what’s wrong? What’s happening?” Uruha was trying to remain calm, but seeing his best friend break down like this was just about the hardest thing he’d ever dealt with. That was until the truth came rushing out of Aoi’s mouth, crashing down on him like a tsunami. 

“He touched me! He tried to rape me! There! I said it! Now let go of me!” He yanked himself out of Uruha’s grasp. There was no way he’d want him now. He’d been touched, tainted, ruined. 

Uruha wanted to hold him, wanted to scream, wanted to murder anyone who had anything to do with breaking Aoi. 

Just at that moment the door slid open, pulling their attention to the emperor, who was standing there, frozen for a moment, not sure what he had just walked into. Uruha stared back with fury in his eyes and Aoi, still with his clothes hanging around his waist, stood with a look of guilt on his face. 

Aoi abruptly refocused, returning to applying ointment to his fresh wounds and ignoring the other two. Kai took a moment to run his eyes over Aoi’s half-naked body. He didn’t miss how bandages covered most of his torso, undoubtedly hiding hours upon hours worth of torture and distress. His once perfectly smooth skin that he remembered running his hands over would never be the same. He didn’t care about that though; he just hoped it would all heal, even if he was never allowed to touch him the same way again. 

Kai snapped out of it when he realized he’d stared for too long, taking the tray he held and placing it on a table. He could feel the glare coming from Uruha’s direction, but didn’t know what to do or say to make it better, so he just carried on with his task.

“Did you know about this?” Uruha finally spoke, voice low and full of venom.

Kai looked up, his eyes scanning between the two of them as Aoi continued daubing at his chest, ignoring Uruha’s rising ire. 

“Know about what?” Kai wasn’t trying to pretend he didn’t have some clue as to what the blond was referring to, but he was sure that whatever it was he was probably going to be held responsible for it. As he should. So, he braced himself, ready for the onslaught. He could take it. The boys deserved to take their anger out on him, anything that would make them better, heal them, hold him responsible for the things he should have prevented. 

Uruha didn’t want to say it out loud. He didn’t want it to be true. He suddenly couldn’t follow through with his own advice to face what had happened head on. It was too painful, but he had to. Aoi needed to be released from the shame of it all. 

“Did he touch Aoi?” 

Aoi winced at the words. Of course he’d been touched; they’d both been beaten and tortured, but there was no mistaking what Uruha meant when he asked the question. Kai held his silence, glancing at Aoi, unsure of whether he was ready to talk about it or not. But, Uruha was obviously ready and continued without waiting for a response.

“What else did you ignore? We tried to tell you that he was a creep; we warned you. You knew about it, yet, you did nothing! We even told you about your own father’s murder, and you still allowed that man to walk free.” He paused and then spat his next accusation as if he couldn’t hold in the foul thought anymore. “Is there anything you do actually care about? Did you ever even feel anything for us at all?!”

Kai remained silent, enduring every painful emotional jab Uruha was throwing at him until that last remark. He couldn’t let it go unanswered.

“I did care for you; I still do.” He spoke in such a soft voice that he was barely audible. Perhaps, he wanted to remind himself why he was accepting these accusations, or maybe he wanted to remember the feeling the two brought to him when they were happy together. 

“You didn’t believe anything we said, why should we believe you?” Uruha lowered his voice a bit as if contemplating the emperor’s words. Somewhere deep down, he wanted a valid reason for all this. He needed something to give him an excuse to be allowed to hold onto the way he felt for the young emperor. 

Kai took a moment to answer, unsure how to word it in a way that he would seem genuine for, even as he blamed himself and thought he didn’t deserve it, he still wanted forgiveness.

“I care about you more than I know how to express.” Kai’s eyes grew moist, his vision blurry. He was never taught about love or about the feelings he might one day encounter. If anything, he was taught how to avoid them. He had a harem for a reason. He was to procreate and to release his desires however he pleased, but never to grow attached to any one person, let alone two men! The only person he’d had that came anywhere close to a father figure had deceived and betrayed him and probably misled him in more ways than he knew. 

“If you cared so much, why didn’t you believe us? Why did you have us dragged out in front of everyone without a word and locked up in a room for your advisor to do with us as he pleased?” Uruha spoke through gritted teeth, trying hard to hold back all the anger bottled up inside.

Aoi reached for the blond’s trembling hand. He wanted to take the pain away; he wanted him to stop lashing out at Kai, but he didn’t know how to tell him that, and part of him wanted answers, too. Uruha squeezed the brunet’s hand but never took his eyes off Kai.

“I didn’t know it would turn out like that. I didn’t know what to think; I just wanted to keep you safe,” came Kai’s soft response.

“Safe?” The word alone was laughable. Uruha shook his head, voice rising with every sentence. “You wanted us safe? Does this seem safe to you?!” He began stripping out of his clothes, more frantically with each word, and he approached the emperor to allow him a closer look. “Aoi’s burns weren’t proof enough, is this better!?” He shook his outstretched arms at Kai. “Huh!? How about these?” He gestured at the injuries to his torso. “Are these visuals necessary for you? Do you believe us now?!” 

Aoi watched the interaction with growing disquiet. This wasn’t right, he never intended for this. He shook his head, staring in horror as Uruha waved his hands around, forcing the emperor to look at the damage evident on his body. 

The blond was taking this too far. Aoi knew, in his heart, that Kai hadn’t wanted this. He knew that Uruha knew that as well, but needed somewhere to assign the blame. And there was Kai, an easy target who did have a role, however small, in what had occurred and who appeared at exactly the wrong time. But, the blond didn’t know the whole story, and Kai looked as if his heart was shattering as he stood there submissively, accepting all the blame. He had to do something. 

The brunet stood and reached for the blond. “Uruha stop it! Stop!” Aoi grabbed the blond’s arm and held him from walking closer to Kai, inserting himself between the two. It wasn’t fair. Aoi knew that even though Kai had made mistakes, so had they, and he wasn’t the one who had caused them all their pain and suffering. 

“I think we’re safer without you, your highness,” Uruha bowed mockingly to the emperor, who flinched, and turned to walk away.

Aoi let him go, looking back at him for a moment before turning to the emperor.

“Kai,” Aoi began and then shook his head, correcting himself, “Emperor sama, please forgive him. We’re just really tired and—“ he was at a loss for words; there was no excuse for treating him that way. 

Aoi spotted the tray the emperor had placed on the table, trying hard to focus on anything other than Kai himself. “Thank you...I—” He bit his lip, cutting himself off and shaking his head. There wasn’t anything he could say that would fix this right now, and he needed to speak to Uruha. “If we may, we’d like to be alone.” 

Kai took a deep breath and nodded, unable to prevent the tears that began rolling down his cheeks. He felt so far away from them, now. Whatever feelings he’d been harboring for the two would never be answered. He bit his lip to stop it from quivering and turned to leave.

“Wait,” Aoi called, a hint of desperation tinged his voice. He didn’t want Kai to get the wrong idea, even though he couldn’t think of a way to prevent it. Kai stopped and Aoi walked to the door where the emperor stood. The brunet reached for Kai’s face and wiped his fallen tears with his thumbs. 

“You’re an emperor, you shouldn’t let them see you this way.” Their eyes met and it felt like it had been an eternity since Kai had looked into those eyes. He expected to find nothing but hate for him there, but, instead, he found the same softness that he’d seen when he first laid eyes on him. The same purity remained, despite everything. Kai closed his eyes, allowing more tears to flow as he leaned into Aoi’s touch. He wanted to hold him, but he wasn’t sure if he should. 

“Thank you,” Kai whispered raggedly.

“Please, don’t forget to stop in before breakfast in the morning.”

There was a hint of hope, the smallest trace of a smile on Aoi’s face, and all Kai could do was breathe deeply and nod to keep himself from crying.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Kai willingly taking the blame. Cinnamon bun!!! Their bonds may be beyond repair at this point. TTATT


	16. Kisses With Healing Powers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The healing begins.

Kai closed the door behind himself softly, leaving the boys alone again. 

“Uruha,” Aoi walked quietly to the blond’s side as he stood still with his back towards the brunet. Like Aoi, his torso was now bare. The brunet placed a hand gently on his back, afraid to make big movements, and walked around so that he could see the blond’s face. Lines of distress seemed to have embedded themselves in it. 

Aoi barely touched Uruha as he came around, careful not to cause the blond any unnecessary pain. He wasn’t sure where to begin, or if he should ask or offer up information, but he knew that something needed to be said. There was an emotional barrier there that only grew thicker the longer it went ignored. 

Now standing before the blond, who looked to the floor without speaking, Aoi couldn’t think of a single thing that he could say that would make anything better. He ran his hand down Uruha’s arm, watching its descent and not missing the bruise that still stained the blond’s ribs as his own bony hand passed it by. When would seeing the visible damage on either of their bodies stop making images of what had happened to them play in his mind? Would the screams in his mind ever go silent? 

Aoi reached the taller man’s hand and took it in his own, bringing it up as he ran his fingers over the other’s palms and digits. Uruha’s attention was now on those hands, his anger diminishing slowly as he felt Aoi’s fingertips on him. He missed his touch and being able to hold him, kiss him, to show him all the love he had for him in every possible way he could. He was afraid now and it was all because—

“He didn’t do this to us.” Aoi finally spoke, breaking Uruha out of his reverie, still looking at their touching hands. “He saved me.” 

Uruha looked up at Aoi instead. He waited patiently for whatever it was the brunet had to say. He watched as Aoi bit his lip before continuing. 

“Kodachi was obviously at the end of his rope,” he took a deep breath and raised his eyebrows, “and I taunted him. I did this to myself.” Aoi’s vision went blurry.

“That wasn’t your fault.” Uruha reached for Aoi with his other hand, instinctively moving to pull Aoi into an embrace, but stopping at the last second when the younger flinched. 

Aoi didn’t miss the blond’s hesitation and was reminded that he was dirty. He didn’t blame Uruha for not wanting to touch him. 

The brunet flashed a weak smile and shook his head. “It was,” he contradicted.

Uruha shook his head in silent disagreement. 

“And it was my thoughtlessness that caused you to get hurt, too,” the bruent continued. 

“Aoi,” Uruha said firmly, trying to stop the brunet from blaming himself as he was obviously wont to do at this point.

“And I’m sorry.” Tears brimmed the brunet’s eyes, his voice trembling.

“Aoi, it wasn’t your fault, none of—“ Uruha interjected quickly, eyebrows drawing together as he realized the extent to which Aoi blamed himself for everything, knowing that it wasn’t his fault at all.

“And it’s okay, if you never want to touch me again because I’ve been tainted. I understand.”

“Aoi, why would I want that?” The blond shook his head vehemently, gripping the hand he was still holding tightly.

The brunet shook his head, tears spilling from his eyes as he thought about Uruha moving on without him. 

“Look— come here.” Uruha grabbed Aoi’s other hand and led him back to the futon. He sat down on it, asking Aoi to follow him by gently tugging his hands. The younger man obliged him, sitting with his legs crossed directly in front of the blond, their hands still connected. 

The blond spoke. “What makes you think I wouldn’t want to touch you?” He gripped the brunet’s hands tighter, “I’m losing my mind every day that I can’t touch you because I don’t want to scare you away.” 

Aoi broke and began to cry outright, unable to contain himself anymore. He shook his head, denying the blond’s statement.

“I’m not clean anymore. I can still feel his hands on me.” He sobbed. “And I can’t stand the thought of him doing the same to you. I didn’t know what was happening to you while I wasn’t there to—”

“He didn’t touch me. He kept making his stupid offers that I had no interest in. He offered me women.” Uruha almost laughed at the ridiculous idea. “As if it wasn’t completely obvious that I’m in love with you.” He shook his head, gazing at Aoi seriously. “Why would I want anyone else?” 

“He chained me up.” Aoi turned his wrists up, as if the damage wasn’t already visible. “It happened just before Kai showed up.” He paused, shaking his head, thinking. “Something was different. He was alone. After everything, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity. I taunted him...so he tried to—“ He broke off. He didn’t want to remember it, but Uruha needed to know and Aoi needed to say it aloud. It happened. He couldn’t look at the blond’s face as he spoke, instead staring down at their linked hands, tears still leaking from his eyes. “He said he wanted to know what the emperor was privy to. He put his hands everywhere, pushed me against the wall.” 

Uruha wasn’t sure he wanted to hear any of this. His hands were trembling as he held Aoi’s; rage rose within him.

“I don’t remember when Kai walked in, but he stopped him before he could do it. I didn’t even recognize him at first. I just remember glimpses of someone over the advisor’s body. He beat him,” he paused, searching for a word, face confused, but unafraid, “savagely. I was afraid only for a moment.” He shook his head and continued, “I thought I was dead, or hallucinating. But it was Kai. He came and rescued me. I felt saved.” He squeezed Uruha’s hands and looked up, into his eyes. “It felt like I was finally going home.”

There was silence as they both digested what had been said. Moments passed before Aoi spoke again.

“I could hear your voice when I was brought here. I wanted to call out to you, but I couldn’t. I heard you yelling at Kai and I wanted to stop you.”

Uruha remained silent as he replayed the things he’d said to the emperor when he’d placed Aoi’s body on the futon. 

“He didn’t do those things to us. He saved me. It’s not his fault that it was too late and I’d been ruined.”

Uruha couldn’t let that slide. He would not allow Aoi to think that of himself without refuting his claim. “Aoi, you’re not ruined!” He stopped, studying the brunet’s face before he continued. “If I could undo everything they did to you, I would. You’re not broken. You’re not dirty. Nothing that man did to you changes anything about you!” The blond was adamant in this. 

“He didn’t deserve to touch you, and for doing so he deserves to slowly rot away, wherever he is. But don’t ever think, for even one second, that I don’t want to touch you because of it!” Uruha swallowed hard to keep his emotions under control. 

“Damn it Aoi,” he looked away for a moment before looking back at his friend. “I was a mess the moment you were taken away from me. Then you were returned to me, and I still die inside every time you move away from me.” He looked down at their linked hands, and squeezed them. 

“I need you. It’s like I need constant reassurance that you’re really here. I want to kiss you, and hold you, and replace every single touch he stole. I know that won’t fix it, but it doesn’t stop me from wanting to try. Maybe it’s selfish, but I can’t go on without you.” He gritted his teeth, eyes closing at the memory of the advisor informing him that Aoi was no longer alive. “He told me you were dead,” his voice was barely more than a whisper now, “and I wanted to die.” He shook his head, his own tears falling freely now. “I don’t want to imagine life without you in it.”

Aoi looked up, finding the lightest shade of brown eyes looking back at him, wet with accumulated tears. Would it ever end? Would they ever be the same again? He didn’t know, but he wanted to try. 

Aoi practically lunged at Uruha, desperately kissing him. When was the last time they’d kissed? He couldn’t remember for sure, but he wanted this; they needed this. Uruha wrapped his arms around him as Aoi settled onto his lap, hissing when the blond squeezed him too tightly and then released his grip instantly. Aoi placed his hands on Uruha’s face, who winced in response when the brunet touched his bruised cheekbone, but continued nonetheless. 

They could taste the tears on each other’s lips, but the sudden taste of iron made them pull apart for a moment. Aoi’s split lip still hadn’t healed fully and had begun to bleed slightly, but he wasn’t ready to stop. He threw his head back, which Uruha took as an open invitation to kiss his neck instead. He nipped at the skin and placed open mouth kisses on his neck and his collarbones. 

Aoi’s hands gripped Uruha’s hair as he set his skin on fire. He ground down onto his lap, suddenly imagining having him inside once again. And just like that, the illusion was tainted. He still tasted the blood in his mouth, triggering the memory of being shoved into the wall. He tried to shut his eyes but couldn’t seem to disassociate Uruha’s touch with the advisor’s filthy, bony fingers. He pulled away enough to see Uruha’s blond head as he continued placing soft kisses to his chest. 

Uruha looked up when he realized that Aoi had stopped moving and was now facing the brunet with a concerned expression. 

“Are you okay?”

Aoi shook his head ‘no’.

“Hey, it’s okay.” Uruha reached for his face but didn’t stop this time when Aoi flinched. He simply slowed down before reaching him. “We don’t have to do this now.” The blond leaned in and placed a gentle kiss to the corner of Aoi’s mouth. 

“Come on.” He moved to slip out from underneath the brunet, who scooted off and sat on the futon once again. “We should probably eat something. We’ve slept all day.” The blond adjusted himself to hide his obvious arousal and got up to bring the tray of food that had been left for them. He placed it on the bed between them and picked up a bowl of soup.

Aoi was grateful for the distraction. Maybe they should take it slow. Besides, their bath would probably be brought in soon and he still had yet to change his bandages even once today.

“I don’t know about you, but I think this stuff tastes much better when it’s warm.” Uruha commented.

“Maybe Yamada san was just trying to discourage us from eating too much and ordered it cold.” Aoi smiled. “You probably finally reached her ideal weight for us; she’d be so proud.” The two laughed softly. 

“Look at us, rail thin and getting pampered like first class consorts. If they could see us now.” 

“If they saw us, they’d be ordering us to clean something, for sure, for having disappeared for so long. Can you believe they thought one of us was pregnant?” Aoi barely finished his sentence. He was laughing so hard. He held his midsection but was interrupted by a knock to the door.

“You two are sounding livelier today.” 

“Sato san!” The two were glad to see the familiar face of their guardian. He slid the door open wide to allow for the guards to bring in the large tub.

“Right here is fine.” He directed and they sat it down. He thanked them and bowed before closing the door behind him. He walked over to where the boys sat on the futon eating their food. “Isn’t that soup from this morning?” He remembered having sent the boys fruits for the afternoon since he wasn’t sure if they’d wake up in time to have a hot meal.

“We fell asleep and woke up at nearly sunset.” Aoi confessed.

“Well your bodies are working hard at healing themselves. I’m sure you both are probably really tired. That’s understandable. How’s your cold, Uruha?” He leaned over and placed his forehead to the blond’s. “Looks like you’re not running a fever anymore. That’s good news!” 

Uruha nodded.

Sato san then reached for Aoi’s face, lifting his chin to inspect it. “It’s looking much better. The bruising is definitely healing.” He stopped for a moment noticing his lip had fresh blood on it “This, however,” He reached over for a cloth and dabbed it gently on his lip. “You must be careful with it, it’s still very fragile so no horsing around until it heals.”

Aoi side eyed Uruha, suddenly reminded of how the wound had opened up again. 

“Well, you boys really should get cleaned up. I’ll bring you some hot tea to help you sleep. I’ll try to stop by around noon and bring you some hot food. I’m sure you’re probably tired of eating light foods and it looks like you’re both doing a lot better; you should be able to start eating other foods now.”

“Perhaps you should ask the emperor about leaving this room and walking around a bit. A little exercise should help your appetite and you could get back to a healthier weight.” He looked at the two. “And since you no longer have to worry about your girlish figures, maybe you’ll finally be able to start looking like proper boys eh?” He patted Uruha on the shoulder lightly with a smile. “I’ll leave you boys to it.” He left them to wash up.

The boys finished eating as much as they thought they could safely handle, pushing the tray aside to get ready for the bath. They each stripped, noting the healing of each other’s injuries and taking comfort in their progress. If nothing else, their bodies would heal, it appeared. 

They each stepped into the tub separately, it being only large enough for one person without their naked bodies pressing together, and neither was sure they were ready for that. Though, the thought had crossed their minds despite their still visible bones looking so fragile. 

The hot water made them both sleepy. They had discovered this fact during their first bath when Aoi fell asleep and nearly slipped under the water. So, the two tried to be quick about the whole process. They dressed quickly and returned to their futon, stretching languidly, their muscles relaxed and their eyelids heavy.

Sato san returned with their tea. Uruha sipped it quietly while sitting on the futon as he watched Sato san help Aoi apply balms on his still open wounds before helping him wrap new bandages. It was a long process, much like when they’d get wrapped up in fancy kimono, ready to be seen by the emperor. Uruha smiled bitterly to himself. 

Uruha recalled the feeling of butterflies in his stomach, the anticipation he felt when he’d first offered himself up for Kai to take. He looked again and watched Aoi wince when one of the bandages went on a particularly raw looking cut. This was certainly a different feeling. 

“All set.” Sato san helped Aoi put on his clothes for bed and then requested that the bath be taken away as he took his leave. 

Uruha crawled back into bed and waited for Aoi to do the same. Once inside the covers he watched the brunet carefully slide in, still a short distance from him. There was a tinge of disappointment at not being able to hold him through the night but at least he was there and maybe one day Aoi might allow it again. 

The younger man placed his hand in front of him and Uruha reached for it. 

“Please,” he pleaded. “Let me at least hold your hand.” 

Uruha was right. Aoi shouldn’t avoid this forever, it was better to take small steps in the right direction. He shifted closer and leaned in to place a chaste kiss to the blond’s lips.

“Good night, Uruha.” 

Uruha smiled back and closed his eyes. 

It was mere minutes before Uruha was breathing in deeply, sound asleep with Aoi’s hand still in his own. Aoi, on the other hand, couldn’t seem to check out. His ears caught every sound outside their doors, from the exchange of guards to people walking past in the hallway just outside of the door that led to the emperor’s wing. The thin paper walls allowed all these sounds to pass through easily. There was a small reassurance in having his hand inside of Uruha’s. He could see why the gesture made him feel more at ease. 

About an hour went by as Aoi laid in bed with his eyes closed, unable to sleep, before he caught the unmistakable sound of Kai walking into his wing. Aoi’s eyes opened instantly, he wanted to say something to him. He still felt like he needed to apologize for what had happened earlier. So, he carefully slipped his hand out of the blond’s and got up slowly. Aoi could hear the emperor's muffled voice talking to a guard as he tiptoed closer to the door of the room he was in, trying to be as quiet as possible so as not to wake his friend. 

Kai bid the guard goodnight upon receiving the evening’s update, and had begun heading for his chambers when the sound of a door sliding open caught his attention. He turned to locate the source of the noise and noticed that it was Aoi and Uruha’s door that was open. 

He was instantly filled with concern when he heard a soft whisper. “Emperor sama,” the whisper came from Aoi, who was sticking his head out the door and looking at Kai. The emperor stopped in his tracks and walked to the brunet. 

“Is everything alright, Aoi?” 

The younger man nodded. 

“Can— May I have a word with you?”

“Of course.” Kai looked around to see only a guard standing nearby. But he sensed that the matter might be one that required discretion. “Did you want to speak in private? You can come to my chambers...”

“Uruha is sleeping and I don’t want to leave him alone. Is it alright if you come in?”

Kai blinked, surprised to be invited in, and responded. “Yes. Of course.” The emperor followed Aoi inside.

“We just have to be very quiet. Uruha hasn’t been able to sleep much the past few days due to his cold and he’s finally resting now.” Aoi spoke in a hushed tone and Kai nodded. “Is it alright if we sit on the floor right here?” The brunet made himself comfortable sitting on the floor near the table with all their medical supplies and Kai sat down across from him. 

Kai studied Aoi in the candlelight of the room, the brunet meeting his eyes. It was a habit to always sleep with as much light as was available. Aoi found comfort in being surrounded by the light after having been in darkness for so many days. The brunet fidgeted with his fingers on his lap for a moment before speaking again.

“I know I asked you to come back tomorrow, but I was afraid that you wouldn’t and I’m not sure if I would forgive you so easily for that.” 

Kai froze for a moment. Aoi had seen right through him. After what had happened, the emperor wasn’t sure that he was welcomed and he had decided to give the two some space for a few days.

“I wanted to apologize for earlier.”

“There’s no need—“

Aoi shook his head and cut the emperor off. “It isn’t right. And don’t get the wrong idea, it’s not because of your position that I think that. It’s not fair to you. I know that all the things that happened weren’t your fault, and I know that Uruha knows that, too. He just needs time to vent and accept that. He’ll come around. He’s usually much less trusting and more reserved, so I think it will take some time for him to realize again that you are not the enemy.” 

“Aoi—”

The brunet cut the emperor off again, intent on barreling ahead with this discussion. “I also wanted to thank you for saving me. I don’t think I’ve been able to say it, but I mean it. You were injured as a result.” He reached for Kai’s hands, rubbing his thumbs over his split knuckles. Kai didn’t fail to see that Aoi was missing a nail on his thumb and could only imagine how it had happened. 

“You really should take care of this.” Aoi reached for some salve, then pulled the emperor’s hands back into his own again and began putting on the ointment. “I don’t know that it’ll help much at this point, since it looks like most of it has already started to heal, but maybe it will help speed the process for whatever is left.” 

Kai just watched Aoi work on his knuckles as he concentrated on being gentle and then began to wrap bandages around them to keep the medication in place. He finished it off by making a careful knot in the bandage.

“There. Now you can heal faster.” Kai smiled, pleasantly surprised when Aoi raised his bandaged hands to his lips and kissed each one. 

“Yes, now they will definitely heal in record time.” The emperor joked and Aoi smiled.

“I also wanted to ask,” Aoi started again and Kai listened closely as the brunet reached for another ointment and crawled over to him. There wasn’t anything that he would deny the two as long as it was within his power. “Sato san says that we’re doing much better and that we should probably be getting a bit more exercise to help our appetites.” 

Aoi reached for Kai’s face, concentrating on the bruise Uruha had created the night before when he’d punched him and began to treat it carefully.

Kai sat silently and allowed Aoi to be his healer. The subtle excitement in the brunet’s voice was making it hard for Kai to contain himself. Whatever it was that he was about to ask for, the emperor was practically already placing orders for it to be done at once. How could he ever say no to him? To either of them? 

“Would it be alright if we left this room and maybe just walked around a bit. You could designate a time if you’d like or something?” Aoi put the ointment back on the table and returned.

Kai contemplated what Aoi was asking for. He still wasn’t comfortable releasing the two to be at the mercy of whoever was trying to place an attack on him. It was no secret that they were his weakness and an attack on them would be a direct attack to his weakest point. 

Aoi moved to place a large square bandage over Kai’s bruised cheekbone and then put it down and laughed.

“Maybe I won’t cover this, you’ll look ridiculous.” He laughed again and placed the square back on the table.

Kai laughed in agreement. His heart ached with sudden joy at hearing the brunet suddenly chuckle. He’d thought he’d never be able to hear it again. 

“Good call. Let’s try not to make me any more ridiculous than I’ve already made myself.” He laughed. Aoi and Uruha didn’t know about the rules he was breaking just to find an excuse to see them daily. He’d been seen carrying trays of food into the room like a servant. He was sure that more than one guard had probably seen him become emotional. He was locking people up for obvious involvement with their disappearance. The list of social infractions went on. It all circled back to his obsession with the two men. 

Aoi smiled bitterly. He wanted to refute that; the emperor was anything but ridiculous and he wanted to show him somehow that he still cared for him deeply.

“Well I won’t be able to kiss it better if it’s not covered.”

“Then cover it and make me ridiculous or it will never heal.” Kai looked straight into Aoi’s dark eyes with resolve. 

Aoi’s reservations crumbled at that and he leaned in, kissing the emperor’s lips. Kai reached for the back of his head, holding the brunet in place and deepening their kiss. Kai had no doubt that Aoi’s kisses held healing power. The emperor could practically feel a piece of his heart being pulled back together with the rest as it awakened and pounded against his chest with excitement. 

A moment later, Aoi pulled back, suddenly remembering that he wasn’t supposed to be doing these things. 

“I’m sorry, Sato san already warned me once today about being careful with my cut.” He pointed at his lip. Kai smiled and licked his lips, tasting the remains of Aoi on them and cherishing them as if it was the last taste he would ever get. The thought of how Aoi might’ve opened it up again crossed his mind, hoping that Uruha’s lips might’ve been the cause and he licked his lips again, as if searching for traces of the blond in them as well. 

“Let’s hope it heals quickly for everyone’s sake.” Aoi’s lips were meant to be kissed and putting them off limits due to an injury just wasn’t right. Just like the boys deserved to be free and caging them up because of threats to the emperor just wasn’t fair either. “As for your request,” Kai breathed in deeply. He wasn’t sure he was comfortable releasing them but allowing them to walk around at only designated times seemed too much like they had become prisoners again. “I’m still working on getting to the bottom of the situation, and I’m not sure it is safe for you two to be outside alone yet.” 

Aoi pressed his lips together and nodded. He understood that the emperor was trying to protect them. After what had happened, he probably felt the need to micromanage every aspect of their care.

“However, I would be alright if you two walk around on the inside of this wing. In fact, you two can use my bath as well. Don’t worry, I’ll be out until late and won’t bother you two.” He felt the sudden need to clarify that he wasn’t after anything. “Until I can be sure that all traitors have been dealt with, I’m afraid that I won’t feel comfortable letting you two be out on your own.” 

Aoi’s face lit up the moment the bathhouse was mentioned. Although small, Kai’s private bath was always a luxurious experience and Aoi couldn’t wait to sit in it and feel clean again. 

“Thank you!” Aoi wrapped his arms around the emperor, nearly knocking him over, he lunged so fast. He pulled back and sat back in his spot across from Kai, trying hard to contain his excitement. “I can’t wait til tomorrow!” He practically bounced in his place. “Uruha is going to be so happy. I don’t think we’ve ever been able to enjoy a proper bath outside of being in there with you.” Aoi grinned. The place held good memories for the two. Being able to just lounge around in their nakedness, not worrying about being discovered by anyone, was the most free they’d ever felt. 

“You mentioned that Sato san said you needed help with your appetite, is there anything in particular you’re looking forward to eating again?”

“Squid on a stick!” Was the instant response from the brunet. Kai laughed. 

“You do like that a lot don’t you?” Kai smiled.

“Well I hold all my energy here, don’t you know?” He pointed to his stomach. “And being able to have delicious foods helps me release it.” 

“Then I’ll be sure to let the staff know to bring you some.” Kai promised. 

“It feels so good to know I can eat again.” Aoi leaned back placing his hands behind him while looking up to the ceiling as if envisioning the feast that awaited him the next day. “It’s really terrible when you don’t know when you’ll be eating next.” His voice softened as the excitement morphed into sadness. “Or sleeping.” He shifted back to his sitting position, looking down at his entwined hands on his lap. “Can you believe they’d make loud noises all night? How inconsiderate of them. Who could sleep like that?” He smiled bitterly to himself. 

Kai reached for his hands, noticing the small flinch when he did so. 

“We were only starved at first. Wasn’t too bad since we had each other. Neither of us believed that you would order such a thing—“

“I would never—“

“We knew. Kodachi insisted that you had commanded it, but he never said why. It didn’t make sense.” Kai refrained from interrupting again, allowing Aoi to continue.

“It wasn’t until I taunted him that the beatings began. I really should watch the things I say.” He laughed.

“Never. Some people just aren’t ready to hear the truth. It’s what I love about you. Both of you. You don’t hide ulterior motives behind fancy words.” The emperor reached across, placing a loose strand of hair behind the brunet’s ear. 

“Well he wasn’t having it. His guards beat us, he was too much of a coward to do it himself.” 

Kai made a mental note to find out who Kodachi’s sympathizers were. For what they’d done, they deserved to die.

“It became a pretty regular thing until he found out we weren’t girls. That’s when he stepped it up a notch. Uruha jumped in to help me and had his arm dislocated. I think I lost consciousness somewhere in between. Then he separated us. That was probably the worst part. We grew up together, got picked on by older kids for being orphans together, so the beatings aren’t new, but not knowing what he was being subjected to,” Aoi looked back at the blond before returning his gaze to the ceiling, “was the worst thing I’ve ever had to deal with.” Aoi shed a tear and Kai moved quickly to catch it. 

“I’m sorry. You don’t have to—“ 

“No. I need to get it out. It happened. I know you’re probably wondering and it needs to be said so we can bury it forever.” He sniffled to gather himself. Kai wiped another falling tear before returning his hands to Aoi’s. 

“You’re probably wondering what happened here too.” He held up his hand, fingers stretched out to display his missing nails. “They chained me up and pried them off.” He paused, recalling the pain he’d felt, and the screams replayed in his mind. 

Uruha lay quietly with his back to the two, silently listening to every word while leading them to believe that he was asleep. He, too, was curious about what had been done to Aoi. Mostly though, he needed to know how he could fix him. What kinds of things would trigger the trauma so that he could help him overcome it. 

“Underneath these bandages,” he pointed to his sides. “They shoved bamboo skewers through me. It took hours because they wanted me awake to experience the pain. That was probably the worst part of it all.” He paused. “Well, almost. Who thinks of these things to do to a person?”

Kai shook his head. 

“It’s taking the longest to heal, but I’m sure being able to clean them properly in the bath house will probably help, right?” He smiled through to his tears at Kai. 

“I’m so sorry, Aoi. I know that there’s nothing I can do to make any of it right. I will find every last person responsible for this and they will pay.”

“I don’t want anyone to suffer because of us, but I don’t want anyone to be subjected to this ever again either. I just want to move on from it and be normal again.” 

Kai chuckled at the comment. There was nothing normal about them. From the first time he’d laid eyes on them he knew they were extraordinary. 

“I’m sure Yamada san will be excited to see us back when we’re all healed up. That bath house must be filthy without anyone cleaning it now.” He chuckled, lightening up the atmosphere. Kai hadn’t thought that far into the future, but he knew he was never sending them back to be mere concubines again. He’d think about what he’d do with them later. For now, he wouldn’t let the brunet go on thinking that he was doomed to return to his previous life.

“I’m not sending you back to her.” 

Aoi paused, confused. Were they to be sent back to the kitchen maybe? That would probably be a much better fit for them, since they’d obviously failed at pretending to be high maintenance ladies of the court. 

“Let's just focus on getting you two better, for now. We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”

Aoi nodded with enthusiasm.

“Speaking of getting better, you should probably get some rest. I’d love to spend the night in your company, but the nights are getting colder and Uruha probably needs your warmth if he is going to overcome his cold anytime soon.”

Aoi looked over to his best friend on the futon, still unmoving, and then back at Kai.

“Thank you.” He looked the emperor in the eyes, making sure he was conveying his genuine gratitude. “And please don’t stop visiting us. Uruha, he’ll come around, but it would be nearly impossible if you stop showing up. I promise to protect you from him.” Aoi flashed him a grin which Kai responded to with his own. He leaned over and Aoi met him halfway, pressing his lips against the emperor’s once again in a sweet, silent goodbye. It was a farewell that Kai was reluctant to end, but knew that he should take his leave to allow them proper rest. 

The emperor got to his feet, extending his hand for Aoi to take as he helped him to his feet and the brunet bowed to him as Kai straightened himself out to take his leave. 

Kai lifted Aoi’s chin to look up at him. 

“Can I ask you one favor?” He asked.

Aoi raised a brow in question. What could the emperor possibly need from him?

“Of course.” He responded.

“He may not want it, but please let Uruha know that I still care for him, too. And that I’m sorry… Should he ever choose to forgive me, I’ll be waiting for him as well. Give him all my love.” Kai pressed his lips to Aoi’s one last time, leaving him in charge of delivering his emotions to the blond. 

Aoi pressed his lips together when he pulled away, knowing that kiss did not belong to him, but happy to be the messenger. He watched the emperor exit and close the door quietly. 

The younger man felt suddenly giddy, a warmth washing over him as he headed for his side of the futon. He blew out a few candles on his way there, the light seemed excessive now, but he left two on just in case Uruha needed them. 

He crawled into bed and carefully scooted close to the sleeping blond, cuddling up as close to him as possible without disturbing him. An arm was thrown over him, pulling him in the rest of the way. Aoi gasped in surprise.

“I’m sorry, did I wake you?” He whispered.

“I was awake the moment you left the bed,” confessed the blond, and Aoi froze, thinking of all the things that he’d said. He supposed Uruha also deserved to know as well. 

“I’m sorry. I couldn’t sleep.” 

“It’s alright.” Uruha wanted to apologize for the way he’d acted. He hadn’t realized how much his words to the emperor had affected the brunet. But he felt the one he should really be apologizing to was Kai. Aoi was right, he shouldn’t hold it over the emperor for something he had no control over. 

But for now, Aoi was in his arms and he felt that he could finally rest. The younger man placed his arm over Uruha, careful to avoid the bruise on his rib cage while burying his face in the crook of the blond’s neck. 

“You won’t be able to breathe like that.” Uruha laughed.

“I just want to hold you as close as possible.” 

Uruha smiled at his cuteness as Aoi continued moving excessively with his legs in a running motion as if that would get him closer. The blond held him and kissed the top of his head when he finally stilled. Aoi closed his eyes and prepared to succumb to a peaceful slumber but the blond was now at war within himself over the way he’d treated Kai. 

“Aoi?” 

“Hm?” Came the sleepy reply.

“I believe you have something that belongs to me.”

“Huh?” The brunet pulled back, hoping to receive clarification for what the blond was referring to. 

“You’re a terrible messenger. Didn’t Kai want to give me something?” He paused, waiting for Aoi to register what he was referring to. “Well I want it.” It was the only way he could think of to let Aoi know that all would be well and that he was ready to give Kai a chance. 

Aoi looked at the blond, and smiled before placing a kiss on his lips. He closed his eyes, remembering the way Kai had pressed tightly against him when delivering the kiss. A moment went by before Uruha licked Aoi’s lips, wanting more from him, and Aoi pulled away.

“Hey! He didn’t leave you that.” Aoi feigned discontentment.

“Well, he left me hanging so I was hoping you’d finish the job.” He grinned and Aoi pretended to be insulted but then smiled back. 

“I thought you were sleepy?” He raised a brow, questioning his motives. He just received another kiss to his forehead in response, before Uruha made himself comfortable, once again, with Aoi in his arms.

The two slept like rocks that night. For the first time in a long time, the promise of a new day awaited them and they couldn’t wait to embrace it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Urupon is finally ready to give Kai a chance.


	17. The Emperor’s Favor

Aoi woke up slowly, feeling warm and comfortable with the sun’s rays gently diffused by the paper door lighting the room. He went to roll over, immediately realizing he couldn’t. There was an unexpected weight around his waist. 

Still not fully awake, he began to thrash and struggle against what was holding him in place. 

“No, no!” He gasped and clawed at the sheets, tearing them off, and heard a grunt. Seconds later, the weight was gone, as if it had never been there and he scrambled to the edge of the futon. 

“Shh, shh, calm down, Aoi. It’s just me!” The voice was familiar and soothing. Uruha’s voice.

The brunet whipped his body around, looking behind him in abject terror. What had they done now? How had they replicated his voice so perfectly? 

What he saw startled him for only a moment before he felt the fear drain out of him, memories washing over him. His breathing slowed as his eyes flitted around the room.

He was in the emperor’s palace, not the dark cell he had been confined to. Uruha was there, looking far more healthy than when he’d last seen them when they were locked up. What had been holding him down had, in fact, been the blond’s arm and not some new shackle. The voice who’d quieted him had, indeed, been Uruha trying to calm him. He was safe. Uruha was safe. They were together. 

He felt hot shame wash through him. The burning embarrassment of having such a dramatic overreaction was topped only by the concern that, in his flailing, he may have injured the blond. Uruha was far thinner than him still, though finally looking only as skinny as Aoi had when they’d both been returned to the palace. His bones were still very visible beneath his skin. 

Aoi looked at the blond, sweeping his eyes over him to ascertain there was no damage before averting them. He shook his head. “I’m sorry,” he said, “did I hurt you?”

“No.” Uruha shook his head and then settled it against the pillow beneath his head. The blond picked up the edge of the blanket, allowing space for Aoi to crawl back under it. 

The brunet hesitated for a moment. What if he fell asleep again and woke up like that?

Uruha seemed to read his mind. “If we don’t keep at it, you’ll never get used to this.”

Aoi looked into the blond’s earnest eyes. He was right, and Aoi did miss the warmth and comfort of his embrace, despite the way it had ended. Making up his mind, Aoi crawled slowly back to Uruha, sliding under the covers and entwining their legs as the blond arranged the blanket around them, settling his arm down around Aoi.

“Let’s try this again, shall we?”

Aoi gave him a small smile. He still wasn’t convinced that Uruha should be touching him, he might contaminate him, but he couldn’t deny that he missed his touch. Knowing what it was that held him down made the feeling turn from sinister to more comfortable than anything he could remember in the recent past. 

The next time Aoi woke, it was to Uruha’s fingers combing softly through his hair. 

“Good morning.”

Aoi shook his head, mumbled protest muffled by his pillow. Uruha’s arms settled around him and, rather than restrictive, the brunet felt it was natural. He snuggled into the body behind him, burrowing into the warmth of the other’s body. 

He frowned when he felt the blond’s still unnaturally sharp hip bones digging into him. They’d both needed to gain weight, but the blond had been in far worse shape than Aoi. His bones had protruded to the point where Aoi had occasionally wondered how he was even holding himself up. His condition had improved significantly, but it still wasn’t healthy.

The brunet rolled over in Uruha’s loose grip, wincing when the other man’s arms dragged uncomfortably over the bandage on his side. He opened his eyes and scooted back a little when he realized he couldn’t see the blond clearly from such a nearby vantage point.

He swept his eyes over the other man. Though his face looked more like a face than a skull now, he was still excessively skinny. Even as he joked that they’d made their appropriate weight, he knew it was imperative that they put on more. Kai had promised him squid on a stick today! He suddenly remembered, feeling the dregs of sleep wash away in his excitement. 

He sat up abruptly, looking around the room in search of the requested food. There were a couple of trays in there, but they held the usual fair. His spine buckled in disappointment. He had hoped to wake up to that morsel but he supposed he would have to wait. 

Nonetheless, he crawled over to one of the low tables and began nibbling at some of the fruit left there. Uruha sat up and joined him. They would prepare for the morning later, after they’d eaten some. 

Aoi grimaced as his stomach growled. A soft knock made them both turn their sleepy eyes to the door. It slid open and Sato san poked his head in, smiling when he saw they were awake.

“Good afternoon,” Sato san came in, another tray in his hand. “I heard there was a request for this?”

Aoi’s eyes sparkled as Sato san set the tray on the table and he could see that on the tray there was, indeed, exactly what he had asked for. 

“Squid on a stick!” Aoi practically squealed as he dropped the fruit he was holding and reached for the savory treat. Uruha’s face also lit up, grabbing up his own portion as well.

“Leave it to you two to ask for a festival food on a regular day,” Sato san laughed. “Well, it seems like you two are doing well today. Now don’t make yourself sick!” He was alarmed at how quickly the two were devouring their food, suddenly concerned they would choke.

He needn’t have worried, though, because they were both very aware of their limits after the first few days of eating and accidentally purging every morsel they’d eaten. The two began to slow down very quickly, Uruha realizing after no more than three bites that he might not even be able to eat half of what he’d been given and Aoi slowing down when he realized that there was no way the blond could keep up. 

Sato san shook his head. “Alright, I’ll leave you boys to it. Don’t forget to change your bandages. I’ll get the bath rolled in for you in a bit.”

“That’s ok, Sato san, we don’t need it today,” Aoi said cheerily.

The man blinked incredulously at the brunet as he savored a bite of his food. 

“You boys need to keep those wounds clean. Especially you.” He looked pointedly at Aoi.

The brunet shook his head and then nodded. “We will! Kai—” he broke off and corrected himself, “the emperor said we could use his whenever we wanted!” Aoi returned his attention to his food.

Sato san shook his head in amazement. These boys didn’t realize exactly how much the emperor was wrapped around their fingers. The man was bending over backwards for them and the court was beginning to whisper about it. 

Plenty of people had seen the emperor carrying in trays of food, like a lowly servant, and the rumors stemming from the people who had seen them brought in after whatever ordeal they’d gone through spoke of something far more dangerous. They said that the boys were just that, boys. Sato san didn’t know the specifics of why they were hiding, and knew there was no way the emperor wasn’t aware of their true sex, but the rest of the castle wasn’t. 

These rumors were insidious and growing, casting even more doubt upon the emperor regarding his ability to run the empire. All these nice things he was doing for the boys, in most peoples’ eyes, seemed soft and weak. 

On the other hand, the emperor was throwing his weight around in different ways. Thankfully, lately, the rumors’ focus had changed from the emperor caring far too much for these random nobody possibly male concubines to what he was doing in other realms. 

The interrogation and execution of many people from all ranks had not been made a secret. In fact, most of these executions had occurred in a very public setting. The crimes the executed people were accused of were very serious and it had everyone in the palace wondering how many noble families were about to need replacing.

The initial orders of execution took everyone by surprise. The emperor had not often resorted to such measures, but now people were headed to the execution block in droves. First, it was soldiers but, as the number of executions decreased, the rank of the criminals increased. All were accused of treason, the highest of crimes.

People inside and outside the court had begun to fear. Who was trying to overthrow the emperor? Some of the people in the palace suspected that the emperor had lost his mind, and it wasn’t hard to believe their claims with the man’s recent behavior and the mass executions. As he watched the boys eat too much (Aoi neatly storing the remaining squid for later consumption), Sato san couldn’t help but think that what the emperor was doing might, indeed, be the result of a certain kind of madness, after all. 

He smiled. “Be sure to rebandage when you’ve finished, unless you’ve completely scabbed over.”

The two nodded and he took his leave shortly thereafter. 

Aoi looked around and realized how late it was. Sato san had greeted them with a ‘Good afternoon’. Had Kai not come to say hello that morning? Even after the brunet had told him that he should? Aoi felt a tinge of disappointment as he considered this. Maybe the emperor had been busy and had forgotten. He really hoped this had been the case. 

Aoi turned to Uruha, eyes bright with excitement. “Wanna go to the bath?”

There was no way the blond could ever refuse him anything when he looked like that, and Kai’s bath was one of the most truly delightful things they’d had the luck to experience. So, they stood, walking over to the door and poking their heads out to peer around the frame. It was empty, which would have been eerie were the sunlight not illuminating the hallways. 

They shrugged and walked out, getting turned around a couple of times before they arrived. The emperor's wing wasn’t exactly a maze, but it did have quite a few rooms. It was like a large house in one corner of the palace. It even, they discovered, had a courtyard of its own. There were few instances when Aoi and Uruha were reminded that Kai was, in fact, an emperor, but it was things like this that made them remember.

“There are a lot of rooms in this wing. Way more than I realized.” Aoi spoke as the two stripped. 

“Mmm,” Uruha agreed, shrugging. He finished with his clothes and turned to help Aoi get all the bandages off his body. 

Aoi looked better, way better than he had. He had gained weight to the point that it seemed with their new diet he would soon gain enough weight to look healthy. The scabs along his sides had begun to flake off. They looked painful, but as if they were healing well. He wouldn’t be able to soak long lest they soften up too much. 

Under different circumstances, the two might be under the ideal conditions to want to take advantage of the situation. Compared to having had to escape to the woods in the past just to be able to have some time alone together, this was a dream. Despite their still prominent attraction to each other, their energy levels were still much too low to consider doing anything other than just cleaning up and relaxing in the luxury of the emperor’s bath. That’s not to say that Aoi wasn’t thinking about it and logging it for later use. If Kai continued to allow this as they recuperated it wouldn’t be long before Aoi reached his limit and coerced his counterpart to join in other activities. 

Aoi watched as Uruha lowered himself into the water with much effort. Most of the muscle in his body was gone due to the starvation he’d suffered and it made it difficult to complete even the most simple of tasks, such as this. Even walking to the bath had proved to take a toll on the blond as Aoi stopped to wait for him several times as he took his time to walk down the long hall. He was grateful for Sato san having suggested the idea, this would certainly help Uruha regain some of his strength. 

The brunet took his time washing up, careful to not scrape away the scabs that had begun to form. Uruha’s damage was mostly internal in the form of bruises and starvation, but Aoi’s had more to do with lacerations so he needed to be extra careful when washing up. He looked over to the blond who sat in the bath with a look of satisfaction in his still slim face. 

Aoi could see how relaxed he was as he leaned back and closed his eyes. Even with the bruises still discoloring his face, he was still beautiful. It wouldn’t be long before he was back to normal. He would be the strong Uruha that Aoi always counted on, the same tall blond that could easily pick him up and pin him against the wall while they made out in hidden corners. 

Aoi smiled and got up, grabbing a small towel before walking over to the edge where Uruha sat. The blond looked too relaxed and, from experience, this could prove dangerous as they often became sleepy when sitting in the warm water for too long. Aoi threw the towel in his face to call his attention but the reaction he received wasn’t the one he was looking for. 

Uruha panicked and flailed, instantly gasping for air. In his frenzy it took him longer to remove the towel from his face. When he managed, he threw it to the side. His heart raced as images of being held down as water was poured over his cloth covered face fogged his mind. He was now sitting up, alarmed and still fighting to catch his breath as Aoi stood watching in horror. What had just happened?

The blond continued looking straight ahead, still fighting to calm himself down when a sharp pain to his ribs reminded him that he was too close to the edge. In his thrashing, he’d hit his side against the stony wall and only now realized it once the adrenaline subsided. 

“Uruha!” Aoi leaned over, not sure what to do as Uruha held his side in obvious pain. “I’m sorry. What just happened?”

Uruha turned his head towards Aoi but didn’t look at him, eyes on his hands over his bony ribs. He shook his head and turned away. “It’s nothing.” He lowered his hands and turned, putting his hands on the edge of the pool and hauling himself out. He sat on the edge for a moment, staring down at his feet still dangling in the water.

Aoi came and sat beside him, putting his own feet into the pool, body turned to face Uruha.

“I know that’s a lie,” he scoffed.

Uruha didn’t respond, turning his face to the side so he could look to the far end of the room, away from Aoi.

“Hey,” Aoi put delicate fingers to the blond’s chin and tuned his face toward his own. Uruha wasn’t looking at him, his brow furrowed, head down. Aoi grabbed the blond’s hand, curled into a fist next to their seated bodies. “Look at me.”

Uruha pulled his chin from the brunet’s grip, turning his face back to the front. 

“I said it’s fine.”

Aoi frowned and put his hand on the brunet’s farthest shoulder, twisting his body towards his. “It’s not fine and you can’t bury this, Uruha. It will never feel better if you don’t talk about it. That’s what you told me.”

Uruha knew that, he didn’t forget what he had said. It just felt small and stupid when compared to what happened to Aoi and he didn’t want to whine about something that wasn’t important. 

“It’s already fine. You don’t need to worry.”

Aoi was beginning to get angry. “Are you kidding me? Already fine? I threw a cloth in your face and you practically had a panic attack!” He shook the blond’s shoulders a little. He couldn’t believe Uruha was trying to brush this under the rug after all he’d made Aoi say.

Uruha felt the embarrassment at his inability to control his own reaction flood his system. 

Aoi’s tone turned pleading as he craned his neck trying to get Uruha to look at him. “So, talk to me, please. Tell me what’s going on.” 

Uruha gritted his teeth and looked up, finally meeting the brunet’s eyes. He could see the honest concern there. He’d worried the other man. The last thing he needed right now was for Aoi to be worrying about him when he had his own self to be concerned with. 

He sighed and drew his feet from the water, turning fully to face the brunet and grabbed his arm as Aoi continued to hold both his shoulders.

He felt grounded by the brunet’s touch and he drew strength from Aoi’s steady gaze. He looked down, his pursed lips parting as he took a deep breath and began. 

“When Kodachi wanted to know whether or not we were the kids from the woods, I wouldn’t tell him. I didn’t know what he would do with the information and would never give you away like that.” He shook his head again, vigorously this time, as if denying the very possibility. 

“So, in an effort to get me to talk, he had me pinned to the floor and put a cloth over my face.” He paused and gave a self deprecating smile. “At first, I didn’t know what was going on. I knew it couldn’t be anything good, but I didn’t have much energy to struggle. As soon as you were gone they reduced my rations by half, sometimes less, depending on Kodachi’s mood.” He snorted derisively.

Aoi squeezed the blond’s bony shoulder. Half? Less? Aoi had thought he was going to die of starvation on what he’d gotten. How had the blond managed to live? It was no wonder he was struggling to even stand.

“And then, the water came. They poured just a few drops out at first, so I’d know what was coming. When I realized it wasn’t anything horrible, like acid, I was relieved. I thought, ‘how bad could it be? You need water to live.’ But you also need air to breathe.” He took another deep breath as if to remind himself that his airways were clear. 

“Then the deluge came. They poured water over my face until I couldn’t breathe, holding my hands and legs down so I couldn’t struggle. Then, the flow of water would just stop, and I’d have a moment where I felt like I could catch my breath only to realize that I still couldn’t. I would choke on nothing, unable to breathe through the cloth. Suffocating.”

Uruha’s bony fingers gripped Aoi’s arms tightly. Aoi thought they might even leave bruises, but for what he had to relive to tell Aoi, the brunet couldn’t blame him.

“My head would start to go blank and I would think ‘this is it’ and they would pull off the cloth. I would choke and gasp for air and they would ask me for the information again and I would refuse to give it. So, they’d do the same thing over, and over again until, by the time they left, all I could do was lay on the floor and breathe while they locked the door.”

Aoi’s eyes filled with tears. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry I threw that cloth at you.” He shook his head as the tears ran down his cheeks. He couldn’t believe himself. Here Uruha was, reliving his own painful trauma, and he couldn’t hold back his own tears. 

Uruha looked at the brunet, his eyes soft. He moved his hands to the brunet’s face, wiping a thumb through the tear tracks there. 

“It’s ok. You didn’t know.”

Aoi shook his head. “It’s not ok. None of this is ok. You almost died...so many times.”

His tears continued, Uruha didn’t know how to respond. 

Aoi pulled himself together, yanking the blond over his lap and holding him there. 

Uruha let out a surprised huff as the brunet easily pulled his frail body around before settling where he was and returning Aoi’s embrace. They sat like that for a long time, until the blond felt the heat and steam of the bath start to go to his head and suggested they leave.

Aoi was reluctant to release him, but helped him to his feet when they parted. Aoi quickly entered the tub afterward, disappointed he couldn’t spend a long time soaking in there, but knowing that he wasn’t willing to leave Uruha out in the cold after such a revelation for any length of time and that his scabs would likely become an issue in the water anyway.

As they changed into clean yukata, Aoi spoke. “We really need to take Sato san’s suggestion and walk more. All your muscle is gone.” He deliberately eyed Uruha’s butt before the blond could pull his clothes on. Uruha flushed when he saw Aoi looking, embarrassed.

Aoi noticed and grinned, straightening up as he continued to dress. “It’s really flat. We should go back and eat the rest of that food.” His eyes went dreamy again as he thought of the squid waiting in their room. Uruha laughed.

They finished dressing quickly and walked back to their room slowly, Uruha needing to stop a few times on the way. That night they were delivered another, more hearty, meal and they each ate as much as they could with gusto. 

That night the two slept like the dead; Uruha was encircled in Aoi’s arms this time.

The next morning, they woke up and were surprised by exactly how hungry they felt. Their morning meal was a traditional Japanese breakfast apiece and the two ate as much as they could comfortably stomach. Aoi wanted to save it for later but Sato san refused.

“You can have more anytime you like, you don’t need to preserve cold food that’s supposed to be warm anymore.” He crossed his arms and raised a brow at them both. “You two hadn’t realized that you have the emperor’s favor? He came by personally yesterday morning to inform us that you’d requested squid and to make sure you were given warm meals throughout the day while he was gone.”

“Gone?” Aoi wondered.

Sato san lowered his voice, coming closer to the two boys as he spoke “He didn’t want anyone to know, but he asked me to visit you more frequently for the next few days. Something must be happening.” 

Aoi looked at Sato san with concern. Was Kai alright? Was that why he hadn’t visited all day yesterday or today?

“But don’t worry, more guards have been placed about the castle. He even assigned one to keep in contact directly with me.” Sato san laughed. “Me. A lowly kitchen worker!” 

Aoi and Uruha smiled at this.

“He said you boys were still sleeping when he stopped by your room and asked that I not wake you. That’s why only fruits were left in the morning, in case you didn’t wake up, but I brought your squid in the afternoon thinking you boys should be awake by then.”

Aoi and Uruha looked at each other. The emperor had personally made these requests? They really were privileged. Of course, they knew that Kai was protecting them and that he cared for them, but they seemed to always forget the privileges that arose from such an arrangement. Aoi supposed he probably did not need to save the food because they would always be fed as much as they liked, but it still felt wrong to waste it. 

Sato san shook his head, seeing the brunet’s thoughts clearly as they played across his face. “You’re like an open book, you know that?” Aoi looked at him blankly. “Ah fine, I’ll take care of the food. It won’t be wasted. Now go do something ya layabouts!”

“Thanks, Sato san!” Aoi bounded up and hugged the man, who was surprised but smiled. These two would surely be well in no time at all. 

They both walked out the door, starting their trek around the hallways within Kai’s wing. They thought this was the simplest way to get any sort of exercise, and Uruha’s pauses were so frequent that neither of them could picture themselves doing much more.

Aoi quickly became bored and the third time they had to stop he began to open the doors to the rooms around them and peered in curiously. At first, Uruha nervously warned him against this.

“I don’t really think that’s allowed, Aoi…” Light brown eyes scanned the hallway, which was devoid of people.

“Oh relax, Uruha. You heard Sato san. We ‘have the emperor’s favor,’ don’t we? Kai’s not gonna be mad.”

The blond didn’t need much convincing. He needed the rest and if Aoi was going to peek into the rooms, then he wasn’t going to deny that he wanted to know what was in each of them. Plus, they needed to get used to the layout of this wing and what better way to do that than see what was in each of the rooms?

When they were about halfway through all the rooms in the first hallway after Aoi started looking, the brunet called out to him.

“Hey, come look at this.”

His tone was curious and Uruha wondered what it could be. He didn’t know what he could find in the emperor’s rooms, but his imagination said he could likely find anything from funny to sinister.

He walked over to the door and peered in. Aoi was sitting in the center behind a long wooden sort of plank. On its surface, there were strings laid in neat columns.

“Wonder what it is.” Aoi intoned curiously, inspecting the thing. 

“An instrument,” Uruha deadpanned.

Aoi rolled his eyes. “I know that. I meant, I wonder how to play it and what it sounds like.” He reached a hand forward, brushing it lightly across the strings. There was no sound, so he reached a finger to the side of the string and plucked it. A clear note reverberated in the air. 

Uruha felt drawn in and he sat next to Aoi, now watching him closely as the brunet fiddled. Several discordant notes came from the instrument. 

Uruha laughed and put his own hands to it, plucking away randomly until he got something that he thought sounded good. The two took turns, laughing when one of them made a little tune that sounded particularly bad. They had so much fun they lost track of time and suddenly it was almost too dark to see the strings on the instruments. 

When it got dark and the boys were in an unfamiliar place and they both began to feel uncomfortable very quickly. So, they crossed the room at a fast pace as they were trying to make it back to theirs before darkness fully set in. In their haste, Uruha ran into one of the other instruments on the wall, which made a horrible crash when it fell over. 

The two both gasped in surprise and beat feet out of the room, hoping nothing broke and giggling as they made it back to their room. The two were surprisingly exhausted after such a short excursion and slept very well that evening. 

They woke early the next day, real food being served again, and returned to the room in the bright sunlight of the day. It appeared they’d knocked over one of the instruments that was propped against the wall. Thankfully, it didn’t look damaged at all. 

This one, they’d seen played when they had learned how to dance, so they had a good guess as to how to hold it. Its side went on their laps, the other hand on the neck, and they plucked at it with their fingers. To their surprise, it was extraordinarily fun. Also to their surprise, their fingers grew red and painful after plucking the strings on it long enough.

Uruha was a natural. Or, at least to Aoi’s ears, some of the stuff he played sounded good. Aoi had fun with it, but it was something that he would very much need to work at if he wanted to improve. 

They also played around with the other instruments stored in the room. They even tried to combine some of them to see how it would sound. So, while Uruha played with the small string instrument Aoi beat the drums without any particular rhythm. 

It was to that, that Kai walked in. They were laughing as he entered the room, his face curious. He had guessed that it could only be the boys and he wasn’t wrong. They kept at it for a few moments after he walked in, smiling and laughing as Aoi bounced around between the drums. His heart warmed as he watched, but he had to teach them or he and everyone else in the area would be having daily headaches.

“It’s official,” he began loudly and their attention snapped to him, “you guys definitely aren’t drummers.” Aoi smiled sheepishly and lowered the sticks he had been beating the drums with. Uruha laughed, and Kai looked at him in surprise. The blond lowered his head, now also looking sheepish. Kai wasn’t sure what that meant, but he thought it might be good. At least, Uruha didn’t appear to be angry with him this time. 

He looked between the two. “I could show you how to play, if you like,” he offered. 

Aoi’s face lit up and even Uruha looked at him with muted excitement. 

“Yes, please!” 

Aoi accepted the offer with such enthusiasm that Kai couldn’t help but laugh. 

“First, have you eaten lunch yet?”

The two shook their heads. Kai noted, once again, that Uruha was treating him like he had prior to everything that had happened. The boys suddenly realized they were ravenous.

“Thought not. I have some food on the way if you wouldn’t mind eating with me?” He glanced at Uruha again. The blond didn’t seem put off by the idea and Aoi nodded. 

“Can we have it in here?” Aoi moved to sit down at the one low table in the room.

Kai smiled and nodded. “They’ll find me wherever I am.”

Uruha made his way to the table set against a wall and sat down carefully across from Aoi. Kai took the remaining side.

“I see you two are feeling well enough to get yourselves into mischief.” Kai joked and Aoi grinned.

“Walking around the hallway gets boring quickly, but there’s only so far we can go before Uruha is holding on to a wall.” He didn’t mean to sound like he was complaining, he just had much more energy than the blond at the moment and needed something to focus it on. 

“Well you two haven’t moved around much for quite some time. I’m sure this will improve soon enough. You two seem to be making good progress. I can’t tell you how happy it made me to walk down this hall and hear you two laughing.” Kai could barely contain his own smile. “I’m sorry I didn’t get to tell you I was leaving the other day, you two were sleeping soundly and I didn’t want to disturb that. How was your squid on a stick?”

“It was delicious! I don’t think I could ever get tired of it!”

“Today we’ll be having other things, I hope you’re not disappointed, but you need to eat a variety of foods that will help give you more energy and help you rebuild your muscles and strength.” 

The two nodded in agreement. Just then, two servants escorted by a guard came in with some food. They bowed and went about placing several dishes around the table. Hot rice bowls were placed in front of each of them with tiny pork pieces. The amount of dishes on the table was astounding. This really was a feast. Lately the two had been eating a lot more and were surprised when they cleaned out the very last plate on the table. Aoi laid back on the floor with a groan.

“That… was delicious!” He placed his arm behind his head as a pillow and closed his eyes. “I need a nap now.”

“We should probably take a stroll in a bit. Eating and sleeping is only going to make you more sluggish,” Kai suggested.

“You two can roll me while you walk. Uruha could use the extra effort.” 

Against Aoi’s desires, the three took a walk around the hallways. Kai showed them around, giving them a brief history of the rooms. Apparently, many of them were designated for members of the imperial family, but his stepmother had insisted on having her own wing, so it had later been built for her. Previous rulers had several consorts in some of the rooms to keep them close but, for Kai, these rooms remained empty as any remaining members of his family had moved off to different provinces to oversee them.

When they returned to the instrument room, Kai showed them the basics in some of the instruments. Much like with archery, they learned very quickly. The two seemed to absorb the lessons like sponges. Also much like during the archery instruction, Kai had a lot of contact with the two. 

He was pleased to note that Uruha and Aoi felt less fragile by far than when they had first been retrieved from the cells they’d been captive in. Uruha’s pride was still the same, working hard to play the drums despite it clearly taking a toll on his body.

By the end of the day they were all talking together and laughing, almost as if nothing had transpired in the interim of their separation. Kai was still extra cautious with Uruha, who was unfailingly polite in return, still on his guard. 

As they left the room that evening, finally done playing through all the instruments, Kai had an idea.

“Would you two like proper instruction in these? It seems like you enjoyed it, but I’m going to be pretty busy so I’m not sure how much time I’ll have to teach you. I only know the basics of most of them, anyway.”

Aoi and Uruha barely considered it before answering. They needed something to fill their time anyhow and this seemed like the perfect opportunity to learn something they might enjoy. It was easy enough to say yes. 

Kai bid them goodnight, dropping them off at their room before continuing to his own. He still had some work to do. He sent for an instructor to teach the boys, giving the directive that he was to teach the boys anything they’d like to know in terms of instruments, and come to them only in the music room within his wing. He also assigned one of his personal guards to the job of watching out for the boys.

The next morning, before he went off to carry on with his investigations, he stopped by their room. Luckily, the two were awake, though their eyes were heavy with sleep as they sat eating their breakfast. 

He asked to join them at their table and they scooted together to make room, inviting him to sit.

“I’ve found you an instructor who will meet you after breakfast every morning in the music room,” Kai informed them.

They both smiled and nodded. “Thank you,” Aoi said before he gave a wide yawn and dropped his head onto Uruha’s shoulder. 

Kai smiled warmly, but then his face turned serious. “To that end, I’ve assigned you one of my personal guards.”

The two seemed to snap into wakefulness at that. 

“Don’t worry,” he continued quickly, “they aren’t here to do anything to you, but rather for you. I’ve assigned them for your protection. They will be completely under your control.” The two still looked suspicious, but Kai continued anyway. “If you say jump, they’ll say ‘how high?’” The emperor shook his head. “I’m sorry to say this, but there is a lot going on in my court right now and I don’t trust that you two will be completely safe on your own. This is the only way I could think of to keep you protected.”

“He’ll be posted on the music room door during your lessons, only.” He looked between them, his eyes pleading for understanding. “I don’t want anything to happen to you and I can’t be here at all times to ensure your protection.”

The two still seemed tense and uncomfortable with the idea. Kai pressed his lips together, looking at the table. He wished he could take away the reason for that distrust but he knew it wasn’t possible, so he pressed on. 

“If they ever do anything you don’t approve of, you need only mention it to me and I will take care of it, personally.”

The two nodded hesitantly. They’d rather have one guard under their control than a horde of enemy soldiers coming in to lock them away again. At least they knew what to expect this time.

Kai breathed a sigh of relief and stood up. He bid them goodbye and left. Today, he had a goal. He wasn’t sure in what shape Kodachi was, but he was sure he was going to see the man. It was the last thing he wanted to do, but the man seemed to be at the center of the conspiracy that was brewing in his court.


	18. Bittersweet Goodbye

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait! I was busy, but hopefully this chapter was worth the wait.

The prison door creaked open and Kai stepped into the cell where Kodachi was held. He was sitting on a bench that protruded from the wall, his wrists shackled by a long chain connected to a stone block jutting up from the center of the floor. 

His face had been cleaned up, but it was still puffy, bruised, and crooked in ways that it wasn’t naturally supposed to be. He stared vacantly out the cell door. Kai felt a surge of hatred rush through him, but suppressed it. This wasn’t the time to get emotional, no matter that the man had betrayed him in so many ways or that he had hurt his two most precious people. No, if Kai became emotional here he would give this man an opportunity to get under his skin. 

Kai strode forward and stopped before the advisor, who shifted his eyes to him before turning to face the emperor. 

“So, you’ve finally come.” His mouth barely opened as he spoke and there was a definite lisp to his speech. Kai felt a spike of savage glee go through him. He’d definitely broken the man’s jaw.

“I’ve come,” Kai replied evenly. He wanted to see how the man would respond if not asked anything immediately.

Kodachi spat at his feet and Kai raised a brow but didn’t say anything, merely looking back at the man placidly.

“Took a minute to get away from your whores, did you? Finally got enough of sucking their cocks? Had your fun and are sick of them? Moving on to the next man you can dirty up with your filthy desires?”

Kai was mildly surprised at the route Kodachi had chosen to take. It was an untenable position. The emperor laughed condescendingly and sneered at the man. 

“Funny how you have a problem with them having cocks  _ after _ attempting to fuck them.”

Kodachi looked at him in disgust but did not reply, so Kai carried on. 

“Exactly how many of my concubines did you try to fuck, by the way?” Kai asked flippantly, as if he didn’t care about the answer.

The advisor gave a mocking smile with the half of his mouth that didn’t seem to be stuck almost fully closed. “Too many to count, Emperor sama. They came to me  _ willingly _ . All it took were a few false promises and then they melted like butter under my touch. You must’ve been doing a poor job at keeping them entertained. It’s no wonder since your interests lie elsewhere.” He gave Kai’s crotch a pointed look.

The emperor knew he should be insulted, but since he himself had so very little problem with his own attraction to men, Kodachi’s insults slid right off him. The only reason he cared which concubines had been taken by someone else was so that he could catalog and have them removed.

Kodachi launched into a lengthy description of some of his exploits with the emperor’s concubines. Kai idly wondered if it hurt his jaw to talk so much.

“...she bent over so easily, gasping and moaning my name. ‘You’re better than the emperor ever could be Kodachi sama.’”

The man seemed to drift off into his blissful memories for a moment and Kai took this time to interrupt. 

“Hmm, funny how I never had her,” he remarked, his tone colored with mild distaste and disinterest. “I do wonder though,” he continued in his mild tone, as if he were just curious, “how in the world did they come to you? I would have thought the matrons would not allow that.”

The advisor sneered, looking contemptuous himself now. “You always were foolishly trusting of your underlings, weren’t you?”

Kai let out a condescending noise through his nose, lips curling into his own contemptuous smile. “And look where that got you. How’s your face?”

Kodachi’s smile vanished. 

“What I’m really wondering, though, is who was backing you this whole time. I know that assassin wasn’t yours. You never had the guts to take care of things yourself. You couldn’t even do it when you had my father on his knees.”

The man bared his teeth, his eyes narrowing with anger. Kai took a step closer to the man. He wasn’t afraid of him at all. Even if Kai was treating him a whole lot better in his imprisonment than the man had ever done for Aoi or Uruha, the emperor was sure he could deal with anything this scumbag had to throw at him. Part of him even hoped Kodachi might try. He’d relish an opportunity to make that craggy face permanent before he put the man to death.

“Your father was weak and useless, as are you, and your court knows it,” Kodachi hissed. 

Kai kept his cool as he saw the man’s own calm facade deteriorate. “Tell me then,” he said, “why is it that I’m lounging in the Emperor’s throne and you’re here, sitting next to a pool of your own excrement?”

“Rrraaahh!” Kodachi completely lost it and jumped off the bench, running at Kai, who dispatched him easily, forcing him to his knees, his fist clenched into the scraggly grey strands of greasy hair at the top of his head. The man whimpered as a few strands parted from his scalp. 

Kai tilted his head to the side, looking down at Kodachi from above as he forced the man’s head back, exposing his throat and making Kodachi look up at him.

“How many times did you rape them?” Kai’s eyes were fire as he stared intensely down at the man, daring him to give the wrong answer. 

“I didn’t touch them, I swear!” The man’s hands grasped the front of Kai’s robes. 

Kai picked up his foot and put it in the advisor’s lap at the junction of his legs. He dug his heel into the flesh beneath it and the man uttered a small scream.

“Don’t  _ lie _ to me.”

“I swear!” The man now had tears running down his face. His fingers latched onto Kai’s ankle in an attempt to push Kai off as the emperor applied pressure enough to the man’s flaccid member that he was certain that if he didn’t let up it might break like his face. “Only that once and I didn’t get it in! I swear, I swear!

Kai let off the pressure, removing his foot and pushing the man’s head back so he crumpled to the ground, hands covering his crotch as he cowered. 

“Lucky for you then, that those two will be the ones to decide how you die. Maybe they’ll have you burned alive so you can feel it. Or drawn and quartered so your body splits at the seams. Or, my personal favorite, maybe they’ll have a rat burrow into you repeatedly so you die slowly and painfully. Who knows?”

Kai turned on his heel and began to walk to the door.

Kodachi scrambled to his hands and knees and chased the emperor, holding his ankles with trembling hands before he could leave.

“Mercy! Please, have mercy on me! Spare me!”

Kai stopped, considering for a moment, before turning back and removing his legs from Kodachi’s grasp.

“I might consider it,” he began slowly, “if you tell me something.”

“Anything! I’ll do anything!” He crawled forward again, making to grasp at the hem of Kai’s robes.

“Tell me, where was that assassin from?”

Kodachi looked desperately up at Kai from his spot on the floor and spilled his guts immediately. 

“It was the neighboring kingdom! They were working to overthrow you! That’s why my niece--” He cut himself off, seeming to realize he’d said too much. 

“Is that so?” Kai maintained his aloof attitude and turned once more to the door. 

“Wait! You promised mercy! What are you going to do!?” The man chased after Kai, still on his hands and knees and was just able to grab his robes before he reached the door. 

Kai pulled his robes from the man’s grasp and walked on. 

“Hmmm...maybe I’ll suggest beheading to the boys. I’ll even suggest they sharpen the weapon.” He threw those words flippantly over his shoulder as he left, feeling vicious waves of satisfaction as he listened to the man begging for his life until he’d walked far enough away that he could no longer hear him. 

He stalked through the hallways of his palace, intent on attaining his next target, but stopped when he realized that he could easily send his men for the head matron, as she was apparently the one trading his concubines. He had other things to attend to.

As he was locating one of his guards to detain the matron, it was just his luck that he would encounter his fiancée who, for once, was not directly accompanied by his stepmother.

“Emperor sama!” Her false excitement disgusted him more than ever. He wasn’t sure what role she was playing in this whole coup, but he knew there was something as Kodachi had mentioned her, his niece. Yet, there she was, approaching him as if she had nothing at all to hide. 

Kai walked past her, intent on ignoring her until he could deal with her properly.

“Emperor sama!” He heard quick footsteps following him before her fingers pinched the arm of his robe. He stopped. “Where are you going?” Instead of hurt, she sounded irritated.

“I have important business to attend to.” He pulled his robe from her fingers and continued walking.

Moments later she had caught him again. “Emperor sama! You can’t do this!”

Kai halted again, turning to look at her in surprise. 

She raised her chin and threw out her chest. “You can’t go see them, emperor sama! You’ve got me and,” she leaned closer and whispered conspiratorially, casting her eyes about to make sure the hall was empty, “there are rumors that those concubines are  _ men _ .”

Kai snorted and turned his back to her, walking on. She followed him at a quick pace. “You can’t go! Have you no sense? Do you know how this makes you look? How it makes  _ me _ look? You’re the laughingstock of the court!”

The emperor stopped again and turned on her, now angry in his own right. “How it makes  _ you _ look?  _ Can’t _ ?” He swept his eyes condescendingly over his fiancée. “I’m the emperor and I  _ will  _ do as I please.”

“B-but Emperor sama! What about me? I’m your fiancée! I’m going to be the Empress! These rumors impact  _ me _ as well!”

Kai scoffed and shook his head. “Please, you’re so far below me I can’t even tell you apart from the others.” With that he turned and continued walking again. Leaving her spluttering in the corridor behind him.

He spent the rest of the day at an emergency war meeting with his remaining advisors. He had ascertained which ones remained loyal to him during the first few weeks of Uruha and Aoi having returned to him. He had been shocked that only a few of them had been associated with Kodachi. 

He headed up the meeting with grave news. 

“Gentlemen,” he began as they all waited, silent and attentive, “I have called you here on grave business. I fear there will be a war and we must strike the first blow.”

This announcement garnered some whispers but no one was overly shocked. All the trials and executions that had taken place lately had dealt with very serious accusations. Each of them in turn had to face Kai at some point in the past weeks to prove their loyalty. They all agreed. The emperor needed to make a show of strength before things got out of hand and it would be better if they made the first move. 

Kai’s days became filled with war meetings. Soldiers began to gather at the compound and in short order the halls were filled with people bustling about. Rumors pertaining to the impending war began to run rampant. 

The boys saw far less of the emperor than they had at any other time they’d been back in the castle. They took to their music lessons with gusto. The daily walks through Kai’s wing and their new diet saw a vast improvement in the boys, especially Uruha, within a very short time period. The blond went from looking just barely out of the woods from an extremely sick spell to nearly healthy. He was soon able to walk the halls with ease, even running with Aoi when the two got bored and began to horse around. 

It had been nearly a month since the two had been rescued and placed back in the palace. Uruha no longer stopped at every corner to catch his breath and, for the first time, Aoi was able to soak in the bath without worrying about his wounds. 

The brunet leaned back against the stony edge.

“This is great! After all this time, I can finally enjoy it.” Uruha smiled next to him. It was nice to see the progress in his counterpart’s health. His own bruises were finally reaching their final stages as well and it was nice to have much more energy. His ribs no longer felt exposed and frail due to having finally gained enough weight and muscle back that he could almost see his old self. 

Uruha looked over to the younger man who sat with his eyes closed and a content smile plastered across his face. His face was practically glowing with happiness and Uruha’s heart leapt in his chest at the sight. 

“What?” Aoi blinked, wondering why the blond was suddenly staring at him. Uruha just shook his head. “You’re staring pretty hard. Is there something on my face?” Aoi took some water and splashed himself just to make sure. Uruha laughed and shook his head again.

“You look really happy.” He said finally and Aoi smiled.

“I am.” The brunet’s grin grew wider. “We get to enjoy this for the first time without one of us having to keep watch for the door or the other to prevent him from drowning. I’d say it’s a pretty good day.” Aoi looked at the blond who smiled back, nodding his head in agreement. “What I wouldn’t have given to be able to do that before...” Aoi’s train of thought came to a sudden stop. He would have given anything to do what they were currently doing. What an amazing thing. He could finally just sit back and enjoy the water soaking his body, clean of everything. He was there with Uruha, alone.

A smirk came over Aoi’s lips. What was he doing this whole time, passing up the opportunity to finally have Uruha the way he’d always wanted? He leaned in and pressed his lips to the blond’s, who allowed it, but then pulled back in surprise.

“What are you doing?” He was in no way opposed, but was taken off guard by the sudden change in atmosphere.

“We’re finally alone,” was the only explanation he could give before his lips were once again on Uruha’s. It didn’t take much convincing before the blond was reaching to pull Aoi into himself, feeling himself get hard for the brunet. Aoi pulled back after a moment of kissing the other so hard that they’d both become breathless. “Let’s go back to the room,” he suggested, and Uruha agreed, giving him a soft parting kiss. 

They hurried out of the bath. Aoi ran back in to grab the flask of oil that had been placed there for them, and scurried to wrap a yukata around himself while following Uruha out. It was the same type of small container that they had found that day when they’d decided to experiment for the first time. 

The two barely made it into the hallway before they were once again on eachother. They’d awakened an unquenchable thirst that had lay dormant for the past month and now there was no going back. 

Uruha pushed Aoi into a nearby wall, kissing down his neck and pressing his hips against the younger man. Aoi nearly moaned with lust. He was so turned on he wasn’t sure if they’d make it all the way back to the bedroom before he stripped Uruha. Just as suddenly as it began, the blond pulled back and grabbed his hand, practically dragging him back to their room as his long legs made equally long strides.

Once inside the room, the blond began pulling the yukata off Aoi’s shoulders. He couldn’t wait to have him once again and all logic failed him as he struggled to expose as much of the brunet as possible, accidentally tangling him in his clothes instead. Aoi pulled the tie from Uruha’s waist, freeing the blond of his clothing but unable to free himself, he just shook it off as it hung from his waist. 

They fell unto the futon, now furiously making out, and grinding against each other. Aoi had enough presence of mind to direct Uruha to the flask of oil he’d brought from the bath, as it had been a while since they’d had sex and prep would be much needed. Uruha opened the bottle and poured out some of the oil onto his hand bringing it to Aoi’s entrance without hesitation. His lips latched back onto the brunet’s while he began to finger him, gently stretching him and purposely grazing against the bundle of nerves inside the brunet. 

Aoi arched up with the overwhelming sensation. He’d missed feeling this good and he couldn’t wait to have the real thing inside him. His muscles squeezed around the blond’s fingers with anticipation. Uruha felt the resistance and nearly lost his mind imagining the younger man squeezing against his member instead. He couldn’t wait any longer. He grabbed Aoi’s shoulder and pushed him face down against the bed. 

The brunet arched up once again, offering himself up for Uruha to take. 

“Fuck, Aoi, you’re such a tease.” Uruha reached for the oil and coated himself, he held Aoi’s hands with his free hand against the futon and licked up the side of Aoi’s neck while sliding his dick between his plump butt cheeks. He could be a tease too. He prepared himself to slide inside of Aoi, he’d leave the teasing for later, as he could no longer hold back. He reached around the brunet to stroke him, but found that he’d gone soft. He pulled back, suddenly realizing that Aoi was no longer enjoying it. Instead, he laid with his eyes tightly shut and a look of distress. 

It was like a bucket of ice cold water was suddenly dumped on Uruha. 

“Aoi? Are you alright?” Uruha asked cautiously. 

“I’m sorry,” Aoi collapsed onto the bed. “I had flashbacks and…” He couldn’t finish. He felt terrible for having ruined the mood. He’d been so ready to finally do it and then this happened. Would it ever stop? He was disappointed with himself. Here he was, making out with the love of his life, and he couldn’t even get it up. 

“Hey. It’s okay.”

“I really wanted to do it. It’s been forever!” Aoi complained. 

Uruha had an idea.

“...Maybe if you take charge? Maybe it’ll be different if you’re the one in control?” Uruha was so hard, he’d be willing to try anything, and he didn’t want Aoi to give up trying to overcome whatever it was that triggered him. The blond pushed himself off the bed and laid next to the dark haired man instead. He reached for the back of his head and pulled him down to kiss him again. 

Aoi moved over the blond this time and Uruha pulled his legs up on either side of the brunet to allow him space to do as he wished. The younger man grabbed the oil and began preparing Uruha instead. He took his time until the blond was practically begging him to take him. Aoi felt ready this time and poured out more of the slippery liquid onto his hand to cover his own length. Uruha waited impatiently, bringing his own hands to his dick as he began to pump himself in anticipation. 

Aoi looked down in disappointment once again, being unable to get it hard enough to even try to enter the blond. 

“Fuck!” He buried his head in his hands and Uruha sat up to meet him. One look down and he realized that this attempt would be impossible. He wanted to groan in frustration, having been turned on beyond control, but Aoi was suffering a very real problem and his well being was much more important. 

Uruha placed a hand on his back, rubbing it softly. 

“It’s alright. Maybe it’s just too soon.” Uruha offered, and Aoi shook his head.

“When will this stop? This isn’t fair.”

“I’m not going anywhere. It’s going to stop, I promise, and when it does, we can do it as many times as you want.” Uruha kissed the top of his head and scooted back on the futon as he began cleaning the oily substance off himself with a rag. 

Aoi watched as the blond cleaned up quietly. They’d both been horny beyond imagining and it had ended in disaster. Aoi didn’t want it to end like this. It wasn’t fair to Uruha, who was always so patient. More than that, if he gave up on this, he’d be letting the enemy win. He would not let that scum ruin this for them. He crawled up to the blond and pressed his lips against his again. The brunet ran his hand down Uruha’s torso all the way down to his dick. He pulled the cloth from his hand and discarded it. His nether regions weren’t the only sexual part of him and he would conquer this. Aoi pulled back and stared into Uruha’s brown eyes with sudden determination. 

“It’s fine, you don’t have to— fuuuuuuck!” Whatever Uruha had been about to say was interrupted by a series of moans and curses the moment Aoi wrapped his lips around his cock. The brunet made himself comfortable between Uruha’s thighs and began to lick and suck like he had something to prove. 

Uruha’s eyes rolled back when Aoi sucked particularly hard, causing him to collapse back onto the bed. The brunet gleamed internally with pride and continued, but sucking wasn’t the only thing he could do. He used some of the oil that was still in the small container and coated his fingers with it. 

Aoi began to rim the blond’s entrance and gently pushed two fingers inside. He searched and searched for that spot that he knew would have the older man seeing stars as he continued to suck him off with enthusiasm until the blond was arching off the bed and thrusting back into Aoi’s mouth, looking for release. The brunet pressed against his prostate and ran his tongue over the length of his dick. It had been so long that it didn’t take any time for Uruha to reach his climax. He tried to warn Aoi but he wasn’t having it. Instead of pulling off, he deep-throated him. Allowing the blond to get off in his mouth as he continued to suck without hesitation. 

Uruha stilled eventually, jerking occasionally when Aoi tried to continue, being unable to stand anymore stimulation.

“Stop. Stop.” Came the weak request. “I can’t take anymore.” 

Aoi pulled off, taking his time to lick him one last time, deliberately slow. A smile was plastered on his face as he licked the remnants on his lips. So they had failed to do it the way he wanted, but watching Uruha lay on the bed, spent and unable to form coherent words, was equally satisfying. Maybe another day they could try doing it again, but, for now, the only thing Uruha could think of doing was sleeping. Aoi had sucked the life out of him and he felt the need to recover.

* * *

A few days later, during their daily walks about the emperor’s wing, the two came to the conclusion that they’d seen everything there was to see within the wing, and wandered outside for the first time. 

“Should we go out?” Aoi and Uruha stood within a doorway that led to the veranda and Kai’s small courtyard, a single sakura tree growing in the center.

“Are we even allowed?” Uruha wasn’t sure they were really supposed to be outside at all.

Aoi shrugged. “I don’t think Kai would be angry…” They stood there for a few seconds, contemplating. The air outside was getting quite the chill in it and this might be one of the few opportunities they would have to venture out again without landing in a foot of snow.

“Didn’t he say not to go outside?” Uruha eyed the brunet suspiciously.

Aoi grinned at him and launched himself out the door, turning back and winking at the blond. “What the emperor doesn’t know won’t hurt him!” 

Uruha grinned and followed him as they ran out into the open air behind the laughing brunet. How they’d missed this, being outside, away from everyone who could see them, and just playing around.

Aoi scooped up a broken stick from the ground and pointed it at Uruha, taking his stance.

“On guard!” He cried. 

The blond took up the challenge with gusto and the two circled each other, sticks smacking together as they each tried to down the other and win their mock battle.

Sitting at his desk signing banishment documents for the betraying matron and her concubines, Kai heard the laughter and looked up curiously. It sounded like Uruha and Aoi were in the courtyard, though he’d swear he specifically told Aoi he wasn’t comfortable with them being outside.

He dropped his brush and stood, going to investigate. He walked through his room and out into one that adjoined with a door that led outside. He slid it open and looked outside, leaning against the frame and smiling softly as he watched the two boys race around, playing at battle. 

He watched quietly for a few moments. He was very glad to see the two so lively and upbeat. They must be recovering very well indeed. They were healing better than he’d ever thought would be possible. 

Their sticks clacked together and Aoi lunged at Uruha, laughing wildly as the blond was struck with his makeshift sword. The blond immediately keeled over, playing dead.

Kai frowned. The boys got up again and carried on. Maybe, he thought, he should continue their combat training as well. It seemed they had enough energy and would be up to the task. War was upon them and he couldn’t stand the thought he had, afraid that what had just played out in their game might one day become real.

The two needed to be able to defend themselves. Kai was uncomfortable admitting it, even to himself, but they were his weakness. He’d made his affection for them very plain with his actions and he hadn’t cared who had seen. Their enemy might already even know this about him. 

If, during the war to come, anything were to happen to these boys he would immediately turn tail and come running back home to check on them. It wasn’t wise, or a good tactic as a leader, but it was true. And that truth put the boys in even more danger than anything else possibly could. 

He watched them play a bit more, leaning against the doorframe and smiling as they both flopped to the ground, obviously exhausted but still occasionally smacking each other with the sticks or shoving one another. 

He couldn’t let them be hurt like they were this time ever again. His heart couldn’t take it and he wasn’t sure theirs would either. He wouldn’t allow it. He would have them trained. After witnessing what they had done when he’d simply allowed them to test out their combat skills prior to this whole fiasco they had picked up on the skills so quickly and easily that it astounded them. 

He would find them an instructor he trusted before he left to lead the war effort. He retreated back inside, sliding the door gently shut behind him and returning to his paperwork. He’d already sent people off ahead and his company would be departing very soon for the warfront. He would need to find this instructor quickly.

That evening, after he’d finished signing the death warrants for some of the people involved in his father’s murder, he thought he might go see the boys to tell them about his plans to assign them another instructor. 

He left his room, steps slow as he thought of how nice it would be to take his mind off the heavy matters for the short time he was with them. As he approached their room, he heard peculiar sounds coming from it. 

He continued forward carefully, quietly, so as not to alert anybody of his presence should there be an unwelcome visitor in there. It wasn’t until he had reached the doorway that he understood the sounds coming from within. 

There were moans and gasps emanating from behind the closed door. 

“Aoi,” Uruha’s voice was unmistakable in a drawn out moan. Kai stood there for a moment, processing. 

One part of him wanted to open the door and join in, but another part knew he wasn’t welcome and that hurt like hell. He supposed he deserved it. Another part of him was very happy for them. This sort of thing was bound to happen sooner or later, and it proved that they were doing far better than they had been. The thought made him feel very grateful for their resilience. 

He frowned down at himself. As much as he knew he wasn’t invited, he couldn’t help his body’s reaction. He shook his head and walked back to his own room. He would allow them their moment without interrupting. Maybe, someday, if he was very lucky, they would forgive him enough to let him join them. But that day was not today.

Inside the room, the two boys had finally figured out a way to get around Aoi’s triggers. 

After returning from the bath, Aoi noticed how Uruha’s bruised ribs were nearly back to their original healthy color. 

“Does it still hurt?” Aoi poked at the blond’s rib as he was getting dressed and ready for bed. 

“OW!” He dropped what he had in his hand to try to protect himself from the sudden attack. “Well when you poke at it that way, of course it does. How would you like it if I poked you?!” He aimed for Aoi’s sides and the brunet tried to run and hide behind a nearby table. The room was far too small and Uruha caught him easily, throwing him on the futon as they both became a tangle of limbs as they tried poking each other while laughing.

A fit of giggles filled the room until they were laughing so hard they could barely breathe. 

“Stop! Stop! Stop! I can’t breathe!” Aoi continued laughing uncontrollably while Uruha rolled onto his back, catching his breath and wiping tears from the corners of his eyes.

The blond looked over to see Aoi laying next to him, still giggling as he tried to calm himself down. He was stunning. There wasn’t a single thing he could think of that he didn’t love about him. At times, he would drive him crazy and still he wouldn’t change a thing. 

Uruha turned on his side and reached for Aoi’s face, bringing his lips down to meet the brunet’s. The atmosphere took a sudden turn. Within seconds the brunet was rolling over the blond, kissing him madly and softly moaning as he ground his hips into him. The lust was quickly awakening within the two, but Uruha didn’t want it to end in just him getting off this time. As much as he’d love to be treated by Aoi’s mouth the way he had. He wanted to be able to make love to Aoi, slowly, to finally be able to convey all the feelings he had for him. 

He pushed Aoi onto his back as he continued kissing him. The brunet’s legs came up to wrap around his waist, pulling him in. He was so impatient. Uruha smiled and pulled back for a moment. 

“I love you so much,” were the only words he could seem to form. Uruha descended back onto Aoi’s neck and collar bones and slowly kissed his way down his torso. He noted the discoloration on his sides where the scabs had finally flaked off and placed soft kisses to the scars. He continued his journey down until he reached Aoi’s length and kissed the tip sweetly. 

Aoi was hard and waiting. This was a good sign that he hadn’t caused the brunet any emotional distress yet. So the blond continued. He began slowly lapping at his dick in short strokes to the head that later grew into longer laps as Uruha ran his tongue from base to tip. 

Aoi moaned in response, lifting his hips off the bed, unconsciously searching for more. 

“Where’s that stuff we used as lube before?” Uruha asked. 

“It’s on the table, I don’t think there’s much left.” 

“Then we’ll have to make it worth it.” Uruha crawled over to get it and when he returned, Aoi was already making good use of his saliva slicked fingers in his ass. Uruha’s mouth dropped open as he stared at Aoi fingering himself loose.

“Mmmm...Uruha...” Aoi’s eyes were on the blond’s as he removed his fingers and pulled apart his cheeks, presenting his puckered hole for the blond. Uruha nearly salivated as his mouth was agape in disbelief. Uruha practically dove in between Aoi’s legs and began rimming his tight little hole, doing his best to tongue fuck him until Aoi was moaning and pushing back onto his mouth. 

Uruha nipped at his butt cheek and made his way up, leaving small marks in his wake as he bit lightly onto his fair skin. He grabbed the almost forgotten oil and poured out the remains onto his fingers and brought them to Aoi’s entrance. The younger man moved his hands below his thighs running his fingers to spread himself apart much like Uruha had done to him the first time Kai had taken him, to help him embrace his fear then.

Uruha sat up and eased two fingers inside, curling them with expertise to find Aoi’s favorite spot. When Aoi gasped, the blond knew he’d found it and he began to abuse it each time he thrust his fingers in and out. He added a third and watched as Aoi began to unravel slowly. The brunet reached for his cock and began stroking himself to the rhythm that the taller man was setting with his long, talented fingers. Uruha could hardly wait to be inside of him, but he would wait on Aoi to say when, impatiently. 

Fortunately for both, Aoi was too far gone to think of anything but Uruha’s fingers inside him. He started rocking against them, wanting them in deeper. The younger man reached for the blond’s neck, pulling him in to kiss him as Uruha continued fingering him. But it wasn’t enough. 

“I want you inside me.” Aoi begged between kisses and tugged on Uruha’s hand, pulling his fingers out. He pushed on his shoulder and pinned him to the futon quickly straddling the blond. He stroked the blond’s dick a few times and lined it up with his entrance. He slowly sank down, taking his time to feel as the blunt head pushed through the rings of muscle, spreading him from the inside. 

Below him, Uruha was losing his mind. He didn’t think he’d be able to be inside Aoi’s tight heat so soon and the feeling was euphoric. It took every fiber in him to not grab his hips and begin pounding into him right away. Aoi’s body was made to be wrapped around him. He was designed to be enjoyed. 

Uruha ran his hands softly down Aoi’s chest, to his hips and down to his plump ass. He grabbed a cheek in each hand, spreading them apart to allow the brunet to sink down all the way. Aoi moaned when he felt that he finally had the blond inside to the hilt. He allowed himself only seconds to adjust before he began moving slowly in back and forth movements. 

Could anything be sexier than the sight of Aoi’s body undulating rhythmically above him? Uruha wondered as he used his hands to help Aoi move. Aoi set a pace, slow at first, before he began to move faster and harder. 

Aoi leaned forward, landing a hand on the bed next to the blond. Uruha helped him as he continued fucking himself on the blond’s dick with gusto. He was out of breath and the muscles on his legs were starting to burn as he continued grinding against the older man. He sat up again as Uruha placed his hands on his waist and began pounding into him from below. Damn that felt so good. Uruha aimed right for his prostate with every thrust, turning Aoi into a moaning mess. But there were guards outside in close proximity, so Aoi opted for biting his lip as he continued to ride Uruha. 

The blond could barely contain himself and allowed a soft “Aoi,” to escape him as he stared in awe at the beautiful man above him. His long dark hair cascaded down his shoulders and swayed with the rhythmic movements. They heard someone walk to the door and turn and leave, maybe a guard doing their rounds, but were too close to stop now. 

Aoi leaned further back placing his feet flat on the bed while spreading his legs wide as Uruha began to pound into him with abandon. The brunet braced himself with his hands on the bed behind him with his head thrown back. Uruha was so close now, he placed his feet flat against the bed as well for leverage and didn’t hold back on fucking into Aoi’s tight ass. Within moments, Aoi was using one hand to jerk himself off while balancing his weight behind him on his other hand. 

The moment Aoi climaxed, Uruha followed, unable to stop himself as the sight of Aoi coming undone was enough to throw him over the edge. The younger man stilled and waited for the blond to finish before he collapsed on the futon, exhausted, gasping for air. Uruha lay motionless for a moment and then sat up to see Aoi with a look of complete satisfaction on his face as he lay in the opposite direction. The blond smiled and dropped back to the bed, waiting for his body to calm back down.

About ten minutes went by while they lay there on the futon, but the days were getting shorter and the nights colder. Their skin had begun to cool off uncomfortably after having been so hot with all their raging lust. Aoi got up and slipped under the covers, and Uruha did the same. The night wasn’t so cold when they had each other to hold inside the warm blankets.

Two days later, the emperor and his advisors settled it. Kai’s army was ready to be deployed and Kai would be leaving the next morning. The emperor steeled himself. This wasn’t his very first campaign but it would be the first one in a long time and the first one where he had something he cared about coming home to. 

He readied himself that evening. When he was as together as he could possibly be, he stepped out his door to walk to his former concubine’s room. He was relieved, this time, to hear no sounds emanating from beyond the door. He gave a gentle knock and entered when he got a response. 

“Come in,” Aoi called.

The brunet wasn’t surprised when the door slid open to reveal Kai. He and Uruha were sitting at the table, eating the remnants of the food they’d been brought that day.

Kai laughed. “If you’re hungry, why not just ask for more?” 

Aoi smiled around his mouthful of food, then swallowed hard. Uruha shot him a look that said ‘seriously?’ and shook his head as he took a sip of his water. 

“We’re good. Don’t think we could eat more than what we’ve got, anyway.”

Kai settled down in the empty seat at their table.

“It’s been a while,” Uruha commented before putting a small piece of food in his mouth, as if trying to pretend he’d said nothing at all.

Kai gave a closed mouth smile that fell off his face. 

“Sorry about that.”

Aoi shook his head, rejecting the emperor’s apology. “You look tired. I assume you’ve been busy?”

Kai folded his hands in his lap and nodded, looking at each of them in turn. 

“We are on the brink of war.”

Aoi stopped chewing his food and both of them looked at Kai, waiting for him to continue. The emperor gave a tight smile and looked down at his folded hands.

“Really, this should have happened many years ago, when my father died, but, since we didn’t know anything about it at the time, we could not act.” He shook his head. “Since you two were dragged into this mess, things have begun to fall apart, many secrets were revealed. Kodachi had his filthy hands in many things.”

He paused, finding the right words. Aoi and Uruha didn’t interrupt.

“As it turns out, there’s a kingdom under my rule that was attempting to overthrow my line and has been since my father’s time. I, in my naivete, allowed the main insider culprit to hole up in court without consequence for these many years.” He looked down at his balled up fist encased within his other palm until Aoi’s hand covered it. 

Kai noted the missing nails, though there appeared to be some regrowth, and a wave of fury wracked through him. He gripped the hand gently in his own. 

“I am going to rectify the situation. I will be leading the troops into battle. I’m leaving the palace tomorrow morning.”

“Tomorrow?” 

It was Uruha again. His expression was pinched, worried, as he looked at Kai.

The emperor smiled reassuringly. “Don’t worry, I’ve assigned the two of you a guard. You may go anywhere in or out of the castle you please, provided he comes with you. He’s under the same orders as the one who is protecting you during your music instruction, so you two should do just fine.”

“That’s not…!” Uruha bit his lip, cutting himself off and to pull back from where he’d leaned over the table.

Kai waited for him to finish, but he didn’t say anything more, so the emperor carried on.

“I’ve also assigned you an instructor to further your combat training as it appears you two are well enough to carry on and I’d rather you were taught to defend yourselves.”

“You saw us?” Aoi blurted, eyes wide. 

Kai laughed, “I did. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I recall mentioning something about  _ not _ going outside.”

Aoi looked guiltily down at his plate, playing with his food. Uruha also looked contrite.

Kai sighed. “I’m not reprimanding you, and I’m not trying to restrict you. Nothing happened today when you were out, and you were in the safety of my wing, but I worry.”

They both looked at him, waiting for him to continue.

He sighed again. “As I’ve said, we are on the brink of war and, I don’t know if you two have noticed, but I seem to care excessively for you, and that makes you vulnerable.” He looked into their eyes, trying to impart the gravity of what he was saying. “There’s nothing more dangerous right now than being the target of my affection.”

Aoi began to laugh but the sound died quickly. He knew Kai was right. The emperor had inadvertently put a giant target on them. 

“I’ll do everything I can to protect you, everything I can,” he promised, his voice ragged with sincerity, “but I don’t know what will happen. So, I’d prefer you to please take your combat lessons seriously. Please.”

He looked pleadingly between the two and they each nodded their understanding. 

Kai nodded himself and began to stand up. “Alright. Well,” he straightened up, his hand still held by Aoi’s, “I don’t know when next I will see you. Please be careful in my absence. My thoughts are always with you.” He squeezed Aoi’s hand and released it, turning and walking towards the door.

“Wait!” Uruha had his palm thrown out towards Kai as he stood, half out of his seat, and Aoi also kneeled up.

They both stood up and walked towards Kai, who turned back to give them all his attention.

The blond had spoken up but seemed to be at a loss for words. Aoi, seeing this, spoke for him, moving forward and putting his hand on the emperor’s face. 

“Please be careful.” Kai grabbed his wrist and nuzzled the palm on his cheek.

“I will.” He pulled the brunet’s hand around and kissed it chastely, before letting it go and nodding to both of them. He turned back to the door, opening it and taking a step out before he was stopped again. 

“Come back to us.” 

Kai looked back. Uruha had taken a few steps in front of Aoi and was looking at Kai, brow furrowed, very serious.

The emperor nodded. “I will.” He stepped out and shut the door behind him.   


* * *

It was dawn when Kai woke up, ready to leave for battle. He’d said his goodbyes to the boys the night before and was ready to be on his way. He gathered the important things that he needed and headed out the door, taking one final look at his chambers. He recalled the good times the three had together, laughing and enjoying being normal for a few hours; being themselves. But that was a long time ago and, for all he knew, things would never be the same. That same affection all three shared could never be replicated, and, as it was, Uruha was still holding on to some sort of resentment towards him that he’d never be able to erase. 

He walked down the hall, ready to face his future without the two men that had become the most important people in his life. He was ready to lead his armies into battle with no promise that he would return. If last night was the last night he’d ever see Aoi and Uruha would he be okay with leaving with such a sad goodbye?

Kai’s insides begged for one last time. Just one more glimpse of his happiness and one last touch to hold onto in case it was  _ the  _ last. As he walked past their door, all reason stopped and he found himself pulling the door open slowly. The room was still dark, but he could see the two figures on the futon. Uruha’s blond hair lay splayed on the pillow as he held on to Aoi in his arms. 

Kai walked over to Aoi’s side of the bed and gently moved the hair from his face behind his ear, placing a soft kiss to his temple. He wished he could do the same for Uruha, but he doubted the blond would allow it awake, so he wouldn’t do it against his wishes asleep. He moved to push off the futon when a hand landed on his arm, holding him from moving away. 

The emperor looked up and was caught looking at Uruha who had woken up. 

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you,” he whispered apologetically. 

Uruha didn’t say anything, but reached for Kai’s face instead, pulling him down into a tender kiss. Kai pulled away after a moment, just short of collapsing over a sleeping Aoi as he struggled to keep himself hovering over the brunet to remain connected to the blond. 

“I meant it. Come back to us, safely.” Uruha pulled Kai in for a final kiss before letting him go. 

The emperor nodded in response with a smile on his face and tears welling up in his eyes. He would definitely be back. He had to. There was no enemy great enough that could stand in his way of returning to the two men before him. He was leaving a piece of his heart with each of them but, more importantly, he felt like they had trusted him with a piece of theirs for his journey. He’d be damned if he didn’t guard those pieces with his life. He would bring those pieces back safely as quickly as possible so that they could once again be whole. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kai is off to war feeling much more vulnerable than ever. Let’s hope for his safe return. 🥺


	19. Something is Missing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy anniversary Gaze-Chan!!! 
> 
> I didn’t think I’d still be posting this in March. There are only a few chapter left to this and it’s bittersweet posting now. What a journey it’s been. 
> 
> Welp! Here it is, chapter 19! Please enjoy.

The first big change Aoi and Uruha noticed due to Kai’s absence, was not actually the emperor’s absence. Not long after he left, everything seemed very normal. They attended their music lessons and their new combat training in the courtyard of Kai’s wing. The only thing they had changed had made them so busy that they didn't actually dwell on Kai’s absence as much as they would have thought. At least, not aloud. 

What they did notice, however, was that from Kai’s departure there arose a mild paranoia. Neither of them realized that they were avoiding going outside despite having the emperor’s permission and a guard with them at all times, until it was suggested by their combat instructor that they do so. 

They’d both hesitated to respond, wondering what awaited them in a world outside Kai’s protective influence. They resisted even going as far as where they had been taught by the emperor the first time. The instructor insisted that there wasn't enough space to properly move around in the courtyard. 

They hadn't even noticed that they were avoiding anything, inventing all sorts of excuses to not go outside the wing until, one day, they no longer could. Both Uruha and Aoi held wooden katana but every time they stepped and attempted to swing their false blades, they were blocked by some obstacle or another in the courtyard. 

After the end of that day, the two sat down, each staring down at their own hands as they realized their fear and from where it stemmed. This was their first encounter with such a feeling and they vowed to overcome it, leading their instructor out the next day rather than allowing him to suggest it.

With the open space they were able to learn much more quickly. The days were growing colder, though, and they spent many hours indoors instead of braving the frigid temperatures.

During this time, the two practiced their instruments. They had found that they loved to play and were both getting good at it. One day, Aoi and Uruha had played in harmony and were very impressed with themselves.

“Imagine,” Aoi began, laughing a little with his excitement, “we might actually have a performance to show Kai when he returns that doesn't suck as much as our dancing.”

Uruha grinned at the brunet before they both sobered. They didn't bring it up or talk about it much at all, but both of them had begun to worry for the emperor. They had just gotten word that he’d reached the front; Sato san kept them updated to the best of his ability.

The first snow came shortly after that and the boys couldn't help their delight. They trekked outside wearing the warmest clothes and shoes they could get, each intent on winning an epic battle. And epic it was, each taking the time to build and strengthen forts before pelting each other with snowballs. 

They came in dripping wet and freezing from that venture and, when warm food didn't do the trick, got creative with ways to warm up in the bath.

Over the course of their training the two had begun to gain muscle, so they each had some small amounts of tone to their arms and abs. If either of them had any doubts about wanting the other man, they were blown away when they each found themselves not only more energetic but more attracted to the other’s broadened physique.

Their muscled bodies only grew more manly as time went on and they each developed the long, slim muscles of athlete’s. Aoi’s skill with a sword changed from juvenile to near master very quickly. His grace in handling the weapon was astounding. What he had failed at so completely while dancing seemed to have no impact on his performance with a blade in hand. Watching him move through the stances as smoothly as flowing water was something Uruha could never seem to peel his eyes from. That is, until their instructor came around and plunked the blond on the head with something heavy to get his attention back on the task at hand.

Around mid-winter Uruha had begun to learn how to shoot an arrow while riding on horseback. At first, this didn't turn out so well for him. His balance was constantly tested and he fell a lot, but he was slowly getting the hang of it.

One day, the two had returned from lessons, their cheeks pink from the cold wind whipping their faces. Their teacher had told them they needed to train in all weather so they could be prepared no matter what was going on. They appreciated the wisdom the man had, but they were pretty sure the guard that was assigned to them had become an ice sculpture while waiting for them. 

In any case, the two had given the man a wide berth as he creaked along behind them in his armor. They were far ahead of him as they walked down the hallway to their room with their wooden katana propped on their shoulders. Normally, they wouldn't bother taking them out of the armory, but their instructor had insisted they practice in tight quarters to get a feel for swinging the weapon around with no room to spare.

They slid open the door to the emperor’s wing and were greeted with a war cry. Suddenly, there was a man with a katana running at them in full military regalia. The two instinctively stepped back from the door and fell into stances, holding their practice weapons in front of them. 

Their moves didn't seem to have any impact on what the man was doing though, and he continued forward with quick footsteps. He brushed through the door and took a wild swing at Uruha, who was the nearest to him.

To the blond’s own surprise, he was able to block the attack. The sharpened blade of the enemy’s katana sliced into the wooden weapon with ease, but did not have enough power to go through entirely.

That brief moment of confusion was enough that Aoi was able to step forward, hitting the man three times in the torso in rapid succession and causing him to lose his grip on his sword. Uruha took that opportunity to pull his own practice weapon towards his body and wrench the real katana from it to replace his own.

Aoi moved quickly, aiming a slice towards the stranger’s head and then tripping the overbalanced assassin so he fell heavily to the ground. Uruha was on him in a flash, blade of the sword he had wrested from its owner pressed tightly against the skin of the man’s throat.

The stranger struggled for a moment, the sharp blade of his own weapon digging into his flesh and drawing blood. As the liquid trickled down the man went still, suddenly terrified. He had been told this would be easy, yet he had been dispatched so quickly that he knew he was no match for his opponents. 

A moment later there was a rush of feet and several guards came rushing around the corner. Evidently, they had heard the noise and come running. They were far too late, but at least they could clean up the mess. Uruha drew his sword away from the man’s throat as the guards began to haul him away. The guard that had been trailing them on the way into the wing apologized many times as the two finally felt their hearts begin to slow, the adrenaline draining out of them.

The two gathered their things in silence after assuring the guard that they were just fine, and made their way to the bath. It wasn't until they’d been sitting in the water in silent contemplation for a few moments that either of them had spoken.

“I know,” Aoi began slowly, “that we were almost killed just now, but, somehow, I feel...good?” He looked up at Uruha. 

The blond nodded. “We came out on top. We’ve gotten stronger.”

Aoi nodded enthusiastically. “Yeah! Like that!” He paused and then slumped back against the side of the tub again. “I don't like that either of us might be in danger from something like that occurring, but I feel much more sure of myself now than I ever have before.” He was quiet again for a long moment. “We were amazing back there.” 

He looked at Uruha with large, glittering eyes and the blond nodded in response. That night, the two slept more soundly than they had since before the whole ordeal with Kodachi. 

—————-———-——-—

Kai breathed hard, dirt and blood smeared over his face as he swung his karana again and again, enemies falling right and left. He had been advised against this, everyone telling him to hang back lest he be injured, but he couldn't. He wouldn't let his men risk their lives when he wasn't willing to risk his own. 

Soon enough, their enemies fell back. Kai signaling his army not to follow as they all cried out with victory. The day was theirs. 

Kai’s katana lowered to the ground as he watched the backs of the fleeing men. The last one he’d faced had been unable to look away from him, his eyes filled with terror as he faced down the emperor’s blade. Kai cursed. He needed to end this quickly. People needn’t die for this cause. 

The emperor’s army was overwhelming in numbers and skill. The kingdom they faced was but a tiny one but of fraction of the power that Kai could call on. All the surrounding kingdoms had offered support to the emperor. The peace of his reign was too good for them to give up. 

Everyone remembered the days prior to the emperor's family’s rise to power. The days that were filled with war, torment, starvation, and rampant disease. All of that had been caused by a lack of resources and willingness to work together. 

Kai had upheld his family values well, working to keep the peace throughout the kingdoms and ensure cooperation and prosperity due to that cooperation. He was a gentle leader. The kingdom he was fighting had mistaken his softness as a sign of weakness. The emperor found himself needing to disabuse them of that notion and there was no shortage of support for his campaign, despite the rumors that seemed to have reached the other remaining kingdom’s ears about what had triggered this war. 

Kai had finally also finally gotten wind of these rumors. Two lowly whores had turned the emperor’s head, they said. Love. They spat the word with disgust. As if it was something repulsive, as if such a feeling did not suit an emperor or, indeed, anyone of rank. There was no room for such a feeling when you had many kingdoms to rule.

But Kai had convinced them otherwise. At the summit he had attended before he had returned to care for his captured concubines, Kai had shown clear, level headed judgment. Following that, at the war meeting he held, his eyes burned with anger that was mistaken for bloodlust and respected by the remaining leaders of the land.

Upon investigating the treacherous advisor within his court, Kai had come to realize that the assassination attempt on him had been set up by Kodachi. On closer inspection of the still living assassin, there was found a tiny tattoo. 

The tattoo belonged to a group of mercenaries, so going down that avenue of investigation had, initially, born no fruit. The investigation into the incident had slowed upon Kai’s departure but when he returned it was reopened by the emperor himself. His coffers were virtually bottomless and he was easily able to pay off the mercenary band for the information about their employers. 

It was revealed that it was one of the smaller kingdoms under Kai’s protection. One, in fact, that had just received an award from the emperor for their contributions to the kingdoms of the alliance under Kai’s rule. Odd how the ones who betray are always the least suspected. 

At first, Kai didn't want to believe it, of course. He had gone to Kodachi, though, who had wagged his tongue in an attempt to have his life spared. However, Kai had promised no such thing and as he'd left that time the man had, once again, clung to his legs and begged. 

Kai had called his remaining counsel to have a discussion about what should be done. They had all called for a show of strength. The call to battle was answered many times over and the tiny army of the betraying kingdom had no chance. Many of the weaker men on their side had deserted upon beholding the massive hoard they would face. The ones who remained were slaughtered mercilessly unless they surrendered, per Kai’s soft hearted orders.

It wouldn't be long now before the army was completely overwhelmed. Kai’s generals estimated they would only regroup once or twice more before they completely surrendered. They discussed all this with the emperor, who had returned from the field, dirty, bloody, and tired, and gone directly to the strategy tent. 

Kai was grateful the war wouldn't last much longer. The initial belief upon going into this battle had been that it wouldn't take long at all. All the kingdoms’ armies were at Kai’s disposal. It should have been an immediate and overwhelming victory, but the war had dragged on long after Kai had wanted to be home, ensuring that Aoi and Uruha were healing well. 

The ground had hardened and snow had fallen on their way to the kingdom and now it was nearly time for the world to again begin warming. The kingdom, it turned out, had hired mercenaries for the war as well. They had thrown countless men into battle to die under no flag. There was neither glory nor honor in this, only death.

It appeared, however, that their coffers had dried up. Their army had steadily shrunk and Kai expected a surrender any day now. 

“Victory is on the horizon, Emperor sama. The enemy grows weak and we stay strong. We have given them two days to regroup and decide how to proceed. We believe they will make the right choice this time,” one of the generals at the war table concluded.

Kai nodded, considering. “Have emissaries sent with food. This is a siege and I'm certain the inhabitants of the castle are starving. Not all deserve our wrath and, perhaps, we can encourage their surrender with kindness. It has been a long winter.” 

There was a general murmur of agreement around the table. Some of the generals looked at him hesitantly before acquiescing, though. Sending the enemy anything that may help them seemed absurd, but after all the time leading this effort they trusted the emperor. 

“With any luck, we will be home as the cherry blossoms begin to bloom. That is all for today. You may go.” Kai wrapped things up. 

The generals bowed to him and left the tent one by one, quietly discussing their new strategy while throwing concerned glances at the emperor. Kai ignored them. Their uniforms were clean and their swords unbloodied. The day he took advice from them would be the day they bothered to step into the fray themselves.

Frankly, there had been no need for that, though. Kai supposed he would never see any action were it left to them, but he couldn't abide by that. He wouldn't hide away like a coward and let others fight his battles for him. More than that, his face needed to be seen so his reputation would linger.

He’d sustained a few injuries during this campaign, all superficial, but some that would leave scars. He wondered what Uruha and Aoi would think of them when they saw...if they saw. 

He couldn't be certain, but he thought maybe Uruha had finally forgiven him. It was possible their relationship was repairable. Kai certainly hoped so. He wondered how they were doing with training. He received reports from home weekly, but he hadn't heard a word about them.

That was for the best, he supposed. If nothing was reported, that must mean there was nothing to report. Maybe he’d return to them soon and they would be stronger and more beautiful than he’d ever seen them. Anything was better than how they’d looked when he’d found them. 

He picked up his helmet and moved to another spot on the table, dropping it down next to a large map of the battlefield. Each party was represented by colored pennants. Most of the flags were on Kai’s side of the battlefield. Truly, there were only two flags standing on the other and neither of them were mercenaries. It gave him comfort to see that despite it meaning he and his troops had killed all the others off. The less there were, the sooner this would be over. 

A moment later, his thoughts were interrupted as the tent flaps burst open and a messenger ran in. He bowed shortly and then launched into his report.

“Emperor sama! I have an urgent missive!” He bowed again as he handed the emperor the rolled up paper.

The emperor dismissed the messenger, who turned and left without another word. Kai’s spine stiffened as he read the letter. His eyes sped through the words quickly, fingers clenched hard on the edges of the paper, crunching it. 

The missive told of the attack on Aoi and Uruha. Kai couldn't read the words quickly enough, nausea overwhelming him as he thought of the boys as they had been before he left. So skinny and frail that they struggled with even the smallest of tasks. Though the emperor hadn’t seen too terribly much of this struggle he had asked Sato san to report on their condition every chance he had gotten.

Kai’s thoughts raced with the further along he read. The attack had been thwarted! He felt relief course through him, fervently grateful for his forethought in assigning the boys a guard. But...wait…as he read on, his eyes widened. It appeared that Uruha and Aoi themselves had fought the intruder.

The emperor was nearly suffocated by his concern as he carried on, picturing the two of them attempting to fight in their condition. He couldn’t seem to stop all the images of the concubines’ death in various ways from flooding his mind. 

He almost threw the letter aside so he could turn around and begin packing his things, feeling the overwhelming need to return to the boys’ side. He held back only so he could finish the report, trying to keep a clear mind as there may be something else of import in there and he didn’t want this war to drag on because he’d been too distracted to read a message. 

He was grateful that the attempt on their lives had been thwarted and couldn’t help but wonder how they’d done it, but he still couldn’t shake the need to want to gather his things and leave immediately. His mind was muddled and confused and he was warring with himself.

On the one hand, he felt a visceral need to see the boys immediately, to ensure that they were safe with his own eyes and hands. On the other hand, this war was almost at its end. If he abandoned his post now, how much longer would this continue? 

Kai flopped into a chair as he finished up the letter and he put his head in his hands, elbows on the table as he put his forehead in his hands. His base instincts were screaming at him to go check on his most precious people but his logic dictated he put a hasty end to this war by staying. The sooner he finished this the sooner he could return to see them and, when he did, he wouldn’t have to leave immediately again if he attended to the matter at hand first.

Kai had so many questions that he needed answering. He glanced back at the letter, noting a post script that he hadn’t bothered to read. It was signed by one of his advisors. He’d left them in charge after clearing out the traitors before his departure.

“The perpetrator has been investigated and it appears to be one of the same mercenary band as was previously sent to assassinate you,” he read aloud into the empty space surrounding him. “I’m afraid,” the letter continued, “that this is just more work from the kingdom we are currently warring with.” 

Kai grimaced. It must have been a last ditch attempt by the kingdom to upset the tide of this war. With that in mind, Kai was struggling very hard to justify following his initial instincts to take off. That would be exactly what the kingdom wanted and he didn’t want to play into their hands. 

When had this happened? He glanced up at the date listed on the missive and noted that it was over a month ago. Though he received weekly reports, the messages still had to travel the weeks between his home and the warfront, leading to a delay in any information coming from the palace. 

He blew out a sigh and dragged his hands over his face, resting his chin on his fingertips as he contemplated what he should do. He’d known and had told the boys as well that it might come to this. He was loathe to stay put another minute and he still had questions that he needed answering, but it occurred to him that the fastest way to get the information he sought would be returning home.

Also, underneath his initial reaction and protective instincts, he was impressed with Uruha and Aoi. How far had they come in his absence? They were now able to stop a professional assassin from killing them, apprehending the man all on their own. 

He couldn't leave. Every fiber in his body wanted to return home this minute, but he couldn’t. Perhaps, if the boys hadn’t successfully protected themselves, he wouldn’t be able to suppress his need to run to their rescue. As it was, however, he had a war to complete.

A large part of him was proud of the boys. He couldn't believe what they’d accomplished in the short time since he's assigned them an instructor. Memories played in his mind of their natural talent for the skills he’d begun to teach them without any real purpose. He supposed he shouldn’t be surprised. The two had been gifted.

He couldn’t stop himself from smiling with pride as he read the missive once again and imagined Uruha and Aoi flying after their would be assassin bearing only wooden practice swords. The two could always surprise him.

Then he frowned. He was undeniably concerned. What if there were more? Certainly, the boys had proven themselves capable to taking care of themselves, but what if that was just dumb luck? 

He shook his head. No. They had skill. The way Aoi wielded a sword was as if it was an extension of his own arms and Uruha was so quick on his feet that he didn't miss anything. These were just observations from the short time Kai had with them while teaching them the basics. He could only imagine how far they'd progressed under professional tutelage.

With this thought he was reassured. His worry was not banished, by any means, but he felt they could definitely stand to wait a few more weeks for his arrival. With any luck, this war would soon be at an end.

Kai sighed and dropped his hands, spying a pile of missives the messenger had set down on the table in front of him before leaving the room. He put his hand into the pile of messages, pulling another out at random. It was also from his advisors. He peeled the seal and read, eyes widening in realization.

This letter told him what information they had gotten from the assassin was minimal. The man only had one identifying mark. It was the same tattoo as was found on the previous assassin. Kai felt his gut twist. The assassin came from the same place as the previous one. Normally, this would suggest that the mercenary was hired by the same person who sent the first assassin. But, Kodachi was jailed, so it couldn't be. However, Kodachi had let one tiny detail slip that might solve the riddle.

Kai wanted to smack himself. How could he have missed it? His fiance, Hana, was Kodachi’s niece. His stepmother, Konoe, had chosen her specifically. Konoe had been aiming for the throne for longer than he could remember. Konoe, and Hana were one of the few who knew that Aoi and Uruha were hidden in Kai’s wing and part of the very few who had access to that wing. 

Kai had always left the invitation open to his stepmother in case she changed her mind and decided to live there. Of course, the guards wouldn't think anything of allowing her into his quarters. How could he be so stupid? So blind? The second biggest betrayer of all had also been under his nose the whole time. 

He quickly wrote up a return letter, having it dispatched immediately with the messenger who had not gone far after leaving the tent. In it, he ordered his stepmother and Hana detained. He would sort the rest out when he arrived home, but for now, this was the best way to keep Aoi and Uruha safe.

As the season began to lighten, the days growing longer and the weather warmer, Uruha and Aoi took the opportunity to head outside the emperor’s wing for things other than training. In spite of, or maybe because of, the attempt to have them killed, they felt plenty comfortable. They knew they could handle themselves now, and besides, their guard was still tagging along on all their outings. He was much more attentive than he had been before, hardly allowing the two room to breathe despite them having dispatched the assassin on their own. 

Their training sessions were all outside and most of their free time was spent there as well as they basked in the sunlight and their freedom. They each had largely recovered from the traumatic events of the autumn, the fresh air helping to wipe away the remaining dregs of unease in their bodies. 

Some days, the two would flop down on the lawn after one of their lessons and just watch the clouds pass. It was during times like these that their thoughts turned to the emperor. It was true that everything that had happened to them in the past few months had been due to their relationship with him, but during these moments, they could stop and appreciate the fact that they had the freedom and ability to do this only because of him. 

They often wondered how he was doing. The two felt an unexpected rift grow in his absence. This campaign hadn’t taken long at all, it was true, but they knew that Kai was heading up the forces. They also knew that he could take care of business. They wondered who among them would win in a fight. Then, they wondered if they’d ever get a chance to find out.

The longer Kai was away, the deeper their worry for him burrowed. As the days grew longer, they became ever more aware of his absence, of all the things they were missing doing together. That’s not to say, however, that they weren’t using their time to savor being with each other.

This was an opportunity that had never before been afforded to them. They were able to openly be together, on their own, as men, and nobody asked a single question. For the first time, they had to hide nothing at all. They took advantage.

Anytime one of them felt the slightest bit lusty, they went off to the privacy of their own quarters. There was no more need to hide in the woods, no need to hold back. But it wasn’t the same. They had wanted this very thing for years, and now they finally had it. Yet, it didn’t feel complete. There was something missing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They finally have each other but it now feels off. Life is hard.


	20. Welcome Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait. But I couldn’t come up with a proper title for this chapter. I gave up so this is the title, only cus I just wanted to post and share this chapter already. I’m sorry if the chapter title is not fun, but I hope the chapter itself is. 😊

The hole left by Kai’s absence was only surprising in that neither Aoi nor Uruha had expected to feel the emperor’s absence so keenly. It took them a while to notice it, and then a little while longer to accept it, and even longer to admit it to each other. 

Aoi and Uruha were lying on their futon, naked skin cooling from their latest escapade, when the brunet rolled over and looked at his blond counterpart. Uruha turned and looked back at him, both lying on their sides as Aoi spoke.

“I miss him.” As he said it, the brunet closed his eyes, scrunching his face up. “All this time, this is what we wanted, but now,” he shook his head and looked at the blond, “it doesn’t feel right.”

Uruha nodded and reached out, cupping Aoi’s cheek in his palm and caressing it with his thumb. “I know.”

Aoi laid his hand over Uruha’s, on his face. “Do you think he’s doing ok?”

The blond shrugged. “We’ve heard the war was going well.”

Aoi didn’t look reassured.

“We would have heard by now if anything had happened to him. He’s the emperor,” Uruha pressed on, trying to convince both himself and his companion.

Aoi nodded. He knew the blond was right. Of course they would know if Kai had been hurt or killed. For one thing, they’d have been kicked out the second the people running the palace got wind of anything like that.

“But the cherry blossoms have already begun to bud. How much longer can this go on?” His eyebrows scrunched together as he closed his eyes again. “And he’s out there with a bunch of people just aiming to kill him. He’s like a giant target!”

Uruha didn’t say anything, just slid the hand that was on Aoi’s face down and pulled his body closer. What could he say? Aoi was right. They didn’t know anything and Kai was in a great deal of danger, more danger than anyone else in his army and yet he was on the frontlines. 

There were rumors that swept the castle every other day about Kai’s death. Sato san still dropped in to let them know if he thought he heard anything credible or relevant, promising to keep them in the loop. While the two weren’t prisoners, they were also trying not to garner too much attention and didn’t have any job to go to where they could find out the information themselves. 

One night, after their bath, Aoi suggested they do something about the emptiness that Kai had left behind.

“He won’t mind, I’m sure of it,” the brunet asserted as he headed for the adjoining door to the emperor’s chambers. He slid the door open and Uruha followed. It had been months since they’d been in this room. They’d not been there since before they’d been captured, tortured, and nearly broken. 

Uruha felt a pang of guilt over the way he’d treated Kai upon their return to the palace. He’d been so angry at the time that he had been past reason. He was glad for that last kiss he’d given the young emperor on the morning he left, but couldn’t get beyond the idea that it wasn’t enough. With time and distance, both he and Aoi had come to the realization that they were in love with Kai just as much as they were in love with each other. 

It had taken a while to accept that they were capable of sharing their love with someone else without compromising the feelings they held for each other. It was a different feeling when it came to the emperor, but without him they felt incomplete. 

Aoi walked over to the emperor’s desk, inspecting random items that were neatly arranged on the surface. Uruha walked around, simply observing things in the room that he’d never really bothered to notice before. The blond smiled to himself, admitting that he might have noticed such obvious things if he hadn’t been so focused on the two men that generally accompanied him on the bed. 

Speaking of the bed, his attention was caught once again by the sight of it atop the platform. It looked so inviting. It was such a shame that no one was there to enjoy it. Why let it go to waste? The blond walked up the steps and dropped like a stone onto it, sighing in contentment as he sank into the soft sheets.

Aoi’s attention was drawn to the bed upon hearing Uruha plop down on it so he, too, walked over. 

“I wonder if Kai travels with an equally comfortable bed like this one,” Aoi wondered aloud. 

Uruha nearly snorted at the image in his mind of soldiers lugging a giant platform around just for the emperor. 

“I doubt it,” he responded.

“That’s too bad, because it’s so comfortable and here it is, just empty, waiting for him to return.” Aoi looked down on Uruha who had yet to move. The brunet sat on the edge of the bed and allowed himself to fall back onto the sheets. “Mmmm…I miss lying here. It’s so big, I think it was meant for all three of us to fit in it.”  
He shifted and made himself comfortable, pulling a pillow to himself. “It still smells like him!” Aoi exclaimed, taking a lungful of air from the pillow and closing his eyes. He could almost imagine Kai laying there next to him, smiling brighter than the sun. 

He really did miss him. When he finally opened his eyes, he realized that Uruha had also shifted and taken another pillow hostage. The blond lay on his side, holding onto the pillow, his face buried in it. Aoi supposed there would be no harm in lying here a bit longer in the embrace of Kai’s belongings.

The next time Uruha opened his eyes it was to blinding sunlight reflecting from the inner courtyard and birds chirping away in the crisp spring air that smelled faintly of the cherry blossoms from the tree in the center. He looked over to Aoi, who was still sound asleep clutching a pillow as he rested. Uruha smiled and reached over, placing a hand on the brunet’s cheek and caressing his long dark hair back behind his ear. His fingers traced the other’s jaw gently until he reached his bottom lip with his thumb. The blond didn’t fight his urge any longer as he leaned in to kiss the brunet awake. 

“Wake up,” he whispered before placing another soft kiss to Aoi’s full lips. “We shouldn’t be here; let’s go back to our room.” 

Aoi stirred and breathed in sharply through his nose, unconsciously stretching his arms and legs much like a cat being awakened from a long, comfortable nap. He looked around, realizing that they’d fallen asleep while trespassing in Kai’s room.

“This bed must be enchanted with a Kai spirit,” the brunet mumbled in his still sleepy voice. “I slept like a rock.” 

“Me too,” confessed the blond, “but we should get going before we get caught. I don’t think we should be here.”

Aoi snuggled back into the pillow he was holding, not ready to let go of the one piece of Kai he could get. He closed his eyes and almost instantly began to doze off again. Uruha laughed to himself when he realized that Aoi had fallen back asleep. He leaned in, kissing him awake again. 

This time, Aoi let go of the pillow, opting to hold onto Uruha instead. He kissed back subconsciously, slipping his tongue into Uruha’s mouth. Their kiss quickly intensified as Uruha rolled over the brunet, who lifted his legs to accommodate the blond between them. The bed was definitely enchanted by a Kai spirit. Aoi moaned as Uruha rocked into him, but something still felt like it was missing, and Aoi pulled back despite his growing need.

“We shouldn’t do it here, without him.” Uruha voiced Aoi’s own thoughts out loud. Aoi nodded in agreement and both got up, placing the pillows back where they belonged, and exited the way they came. They returned to their room and to their daily routine without the presence of the emperor. 

They continued on in their usual pattern as the cherry blossoms began to bloom and slowly fall to the ground. They hadn’t received word of the emperor for a few weeks and their concern had become such that they sometimes spent the hours outdoors, sitting in silence together, each wrapped in his own thoughts and unable to focus on anything else. 

This led to many of the pink cherry blossoms piling up on both their heads while they sat immobile under the trees. Uruha turned and noticed them in the brunet’s hair, a small smile crossing his face as he reached out and brushed them off.

Aoi looked to him, startled from his thoughts, but realized what the blond was doing as he spied the same thing on top of blond locks. He laughed as he returned the gesture and stood, pulling the blond with him. The sun was getting lower in the sky and Aoi had become aware of his stomach growling. 

“Let’s head back in; I’m hungry.”

The blond smiled and nodded, the two walking back on a long path under a neat row of cherry blossom trees shedding their pink petals. A light breeze blew the petals in a gentle diagonal through the air. Each of them studied the scene with delight, taking a moment to feel relaxed and happy. Whatever worries they had about the emperor seemed to float away as they focused on the natural beauty surrounding them. 

Before long, they spotted a figure in the distance coming towards them. They stepped politely to the side to give the person some space to walk. Sometimes, they forgot this place wasn’t only theirs. 

As the figure drew closer it resolved, first into a person, then revealing long brown hair in a high ponytail that made them both think longingly of the emperor. But, the person was too far away to see their features, so the two boys continued walking, stealing fleeting sidelong looks at the person coming towards them. As he moved closer the person’s features became more distinct. 

The body shape, the gait, the hair, and, finally, the face. The man was looking down, picking at his clothes as he walked, fretting. Aoi and Uruha stopped in their tracks as they simultaneously realized who it was that was walking towards them through a rain of cherry blossoms.

“It couldn’t be…” Uruha shook his head and stumbled a few steps forward.

“...Kai?” Aoi began to take off at a run. “Kai!”

The man looked up, surprised, eyes darting around before settling on the human body hurtling toward him at top speed. His face split into a wide grin just before the man barreled into him. The emperor instinctively caught him as Aoi wrapped his legs firmly around Kai’s waist and the emperor spun him around with the momentum. 

Aoi crashed his lips to Kai’s smiling ones, kissing him thoroughly. Uruha caught up, strolling behind them with a smile on his face. Aoi pulled back from the kiss and slid his feet to the ground. The emperor didn’t let go of him though, instead using his free hand to pull Uruha into his body as well, kissing him soundly. 

They parted, Uruha’s soft smile gone, replaced with something else. The boys each took a hand of the emperor as they turned around and walked back towards the palace.

“Did you even stop before you came out here?” The blond asked as they walked. 

Kai smiled sheepishly and shook his head. “No,” he admitted, “I couldn’t wait.”

Aoi and Uruha both looked back at him then, eyes burning with matching looks of lust.

“Well then,” Aoi suggested, “let’s get you cleaned up.”

It didn’t take more than a few minutes before all three had reached the palace, practically power walking by the time they got there. Once they reached Kai’s wing they headed directly for the bathhouse.

It had been months since they’d last seen the emperor and having him finally back home was bringing to life all the feelings they’d been having during his absence. The need to have him and show him all the love they had for him had become suddenly unbearable. 

The boys didn’t give him a chance to stop anywhere as they practically pushed him into the bathhouse. Aoi was latching onto him the instant they set foot through the door. During Kai’s time away, Aoi and Uruha had discovered a few things about themselves that they couldn’t wait to explore with him. Aoi liked to do the kissing, and he was currently overwhelming Kai with a series of nips and kisses to his lips and neck. 

Uruha walked up behind the young emperor and wrapped his arms around him from the back, loosening his garments and slowly undressing him. The brunet moved to help while the taller man used a hand to turn Kai’s face to him as he began kissing him as well. Aoi made note of all the bruises, cuts and scratches on the emperor that were not there before Kai left. He would take his time to help him wash up and help him treat each one of them with care. 

The two men stripped from their own clothing and Kai couldn’t help but stare. The two skinny concubines that he had first laid eyes on were now strong young men. More than that, they were no longer the frail creatures he’d rescued from their prison cells. No. These two were fit young men, capable of defending themselves with skills that a trained samurai would be proud of. Their faces still held softness, though, despite their sharp jawlines. 

Kai nearly drooled at the sight as he stood with his mouth still agape. The way they moved now, with so much grace as they prepared the bath for the emperor, made his head dizzy with thoughts of what those bodies could look like writhing beneath him. Fuck! He was instantly hard as a rock when Aoi called to him from where they’d set up his bath. 

The emperor walked over to the wooden tub they’d prepared. He carefully climbed in, groaning as he sat back in the warm water, allowing his tense muscles to finally relax. The entire way back to the castle he hadn’t been sure what he was coming home to. Between the lies that had been recently uncovered and the thoughts of having to replace so much of his staff that had been somehow involved with his treacherous advisor, to not knowing how Aoi and Uruha would receive him, if at all, the emperor had been plagued with worry. Yet, here they were, tending to his weary self.

Uruha grabbed a sponge and Aoi got busy taking down the emperor’s hair. Kai couldn’t remember ever being spoiled so much in his life. He could’ve had this if he really wanted it. He was an emperor, after all, and had an entire harem at his disposal. However, this was never something he knew he wanted until now. He couldn’t think of anyone he’d ever felt so relaxed around as Aoi and Uruha. No one could make him drop all his inhibitions and make him feel so normal and somehow like the most important person in the empire at the same time. How did they do it? 

Kai closed his eyes as Aoi’s fingers worked wonders on his scalp, Uruha carefully sponged the rest of him. Kai could really get used to this if his hands weren’t already aching from his overwhelming desire to touch the two handsome men currently catering to him. 

Aoi placed his hand on Kai’s forehead, gently pulling his head back to rinse him off. Once done, Kai looked up at the brunet and reached for him, bringing him down for a kiss. Aoi’s hand traveled down his torso, pinching a nipple on his way down. Uruha watched from his place on the side of the tub as Aoi’s hands continued their journey into the soapy water until Kai groaned and he knew just where the brunet’s hand had stopped. 

Uruha smirked, a playful glint in his eyes. It was time to rinse off the emperor, he couldn’t wait any longer. He watched Kai’s neck, fully exposed as he kissed Aoi, and he wanted in on it. The blond leaned in, latching onto the emperor’s neck. His hand ran down his chest to then join Aoi’s below the waterline. 

While Aoi’s hand was busy stroking the emperor’s cock, Uruha focused on his balls. Kai pulled away from Aoi, trying to fill his lungs with air as he gasped in response to the things the two were doing to his nether regions. Kai used a free hand to thread his fingers into blond hair next to him and brought the older man in for a kiss. 

“Can we go soak now?” Aoi interrupted, not being one to be particularly patient when sex was on his mind. 

Uruha pulled away from Kai and stood up to lend a hand to the emperor, who took it and stepped out of the bath. The three headed for the deep basin of heated water, Aoi leading the way as he stepped in and sat down, water covering him up to his chest. Uruha led Kai by the hand to take a seat next to the brunet. Once inside, the emperor didn’t get a chance to even wonder what was happening as Uruha climbed onto his lap while Aoi distracted him with kisses. 

It was obvious that the two had missed him and it made his heart swell. Uruha ground his hips down onto the emperor and Kai grabbed his hips to buck up against him.

“Wait,” Uruha stopped just long enough to pull Kai’s attention to him so he stopped making out with Aoi. The blond stood up and held out a hand for the emperor to hold, bringing him to his feet as well. He pushed Kai back until his backside hit the stone wall. The emperor pulled himself up and sat with his legs dangling in the water. Aoi looked up and saw the intention on Uruha’s face; he was definitely in agreement.

Kai saw the look the two shared, but wasn’t sure what to expect until two mouths descended simultaneously on his dick, and he understood. His body wasn’t ready to handle the surprise. He groaned as they both licked a strip from base to tip and back again. It was a wonderful sight as the two took turns wrapping their lips around him and running their tongues along his cock. 

When Aoi’s tongue made contact with Uruha’s as they both reached the tip of Kai’s length, the brunet’s hands instinctively made their way to the blond. One threaded through blond locks as their kiss teased the emperor’s cock, the other went straight for Uruha’s nether regions, stroking and pumping his rock hard dick. 

Kai’s head was swimming with lust. His dick twitched with the need to be inside one of the men as he watched them lick, suck, and make out with one another, sharing the taste of his precome. 

Beneath the waterline, Aoi’s hand had now reached below the blond and was fingering him loose. It had been a while since he’d had the chance to see the blond beauty being fucked by Kai and he couldn’t wait to indulge in the sight. Not that the older man had any intention to wait much longer with Kai finally there in front of them and more than willing. 

Once Aoi had managed to get three fingers in, Uruha decided he was ready enough. His own hand was still pumping Kai as the two continued to give the emperor head. But the need was far too great now with the way Aoi was teasing his insides. 

Uruha gave the brunet a hard kiss and stood up upon spotting the small flask of the makeshift lube within reach. He climbed out of the basin and quickly straddled Kai, lining himself up with the emperor’s dick. He poured some of the oil on his hand, coated Kai’s cock, and sank down slowly onto it, groaning as he felt it fill him fully for the first time in months. 

Below him, Aoi watched as he was penetrated by Kai like he hadn’t seen in a long time. The view was enough to make him want to get himself off as he watched his counterpart begin to ride the emperor’s dick with abandon. He stood in awe and watched Kai’s shaft slide in and out of the tight hole every time the blond moved. 

Aoi approached the two and put his mouth to work. He pushed Kai’s legs up so his feet were now braced on the edge of the basin and spread his legs wider before he began lapping slowly at his ass. The brunet ran his tongue up and down, from Kai’s ass to his balls, currently slapping against the blond’s ass. Uruha was moving above Kai, reaching closer to his climax with every breath he felt on his bottom from Aoi. 

As the taller man began to pick up his pace, Aoi climbed out of the water, positioning himself behind Uruha and between Kai’s spread thighs. He wrapped his arms around the blond, hands on his chest and down his stomach. The brunet’s hands ran down his body and down further to wrap around the blond’s dick. He pressed his lips against the back of Uruha’s neck. 

The blond’s hands were on Kai’s stomach as he continued to ride the emperor. He was momentarily distracted by Aoi’s lips on his skin and he tried to turn to meet the brunet’s lips with his own instead. Aoi wasn’t having any of it, though. He pushed Uruha down so he was chest to chest with Kai. He reached for the slippery substance and poured some on his hand, he had a particular fantasy in mind that he’d like to see play out. 

Aoi reached between Kai’s legs and brought his coated fingers to his entrance. With the emperor away, and their new private chambers, he and Uruha had been free to experiment sex to their hearts’ content with each other. Aoi couldn’t wait to explore even more now that Kai was back. He began by rimming the emperor's puckered hole and tentatively pressing a single finger to it. 

Kai’s hands were currently on Uruha’s rear, guiding him to move over him. He slipped one hand down below his thigh to his own bottom, exposing his entrance for the brunet, letting him know that he was alright with whatever Aoi obviously had in mind. 

Aoi took the cue and slid a finger inside the emperor. Kai adjusted himself and Uruha above him, pulling his legs up to allow Aoi enough space to continue. A mischievous smile came over the brunet and he added a second finger. 

Having been on the receiving end of such ministrations from both Uruha and Kai, Aoi was well aware of things that felt good and the ways they made him feel like he would lose his mind. He was aiming only for the latter. He searched for that spot inside of Kai until he successfully interrupted him from kissing Uruha, as he moaned loudly, and shifted away from prying fingers momentarily before seeking them out again. Aoi smiled to himself triumphantly and, now that he’d found it, he teased him to no end. 

He continued his attack, dictating the way Kai was now fucking into Uruha with his fingers alone. But that wasn’t all he wanted to try. As Kai was so willing, he would take it up a notch. He pulled his fingers out, deliberately slowly, causing the emperor to groan in protest and Kai’s hands to dig into Uruha’s hips tightly as he buried himself into the blond, seeking more pleasure from him now that Aoi’s fingers were gone. Uruha, too, moaned in reaction. 

“Fuck! I was so close.” The blond complained. At this, Aoi reached around him, placing his hand on his length and began to stroke him painfully slowly, bringing him back from the brink while mainiting his level of anticipation. “Fuck! Aoi!” He complained again. 

Kai smiled with amusement. Aoi had always been a bit of a tease, in his own way, and now he had taken this ability to another level. But Kai didn’t get a chance to dwell on this information for long as he felt something press against his entrance that was much larger than fingers alone. He looked up to meet the dark eyes of the brunet as he looked down at him past Uruha’s writhing form. 

The look on his face was filled with lust, want, and a kind of confidence that the emperor had never quite seen before. It made his insides quiver with arousal. He wanted this, he wanted to experience this Aoi. He spread his legs wider and braced himself on Uruha’s body as he stilled to allow Aoi inside. 

The emperor sought Uruha’s mouth and kissed him to distract himself and the blond as he held still for Aoi to penetrate him. The brunet smirked and focused on his target. With one hand still stroking the blond, he began guiding his dick into the emperor slowly until he was buried deep. 

A particularly rough stroke had Uruha pulling away from the emperor and throwing his head back. Kai wasn’t moving beneath him and the blond had become curious as to why. He tried to sit up straight.

“Wait,” Aoi commanded, stopping him in the process.

Uruha looked back at Aoi, whose focus was on Kai. The blond then looked down at the emperor, who lay with his brows furrowed and eyes closed. His strong hands were barely gripping the blond and that’s when Uruha realized what was happening. He turned to Aoi and moved a hand behind himself to feel where Aoi and Kai were now connected. Unbelievable. Aoi had no sense of propriety. But, Kai seemed to be okay with it, so Uruha just leaned back down, bracing himself with one hand on the stone floor. His other hand he used to caress Kai’s cheek. 

Uruha couldn’t help but smile as Kai looked up at him, half lidded eyes glazed with lust and wonder as he felt Aoi begin to move behind them. The blond couldn’t help but think of how much he’d missed Kai and, now that he was looking at him like this, how in love he actually was with the emperor. 

Uruha leaned in, kissing Kai with all the emotion he could muster. He resumed his pace above the emperor but was no longer just seeking release. Rather, he needed to feel connected to the other man. This was what they’d been missing. Kai was the missing piece in their perfect little circle. 

Upon watching the interaction between Uruha and Kai, Aoi was also inclined to set his own slow pace. He ran his hands softly down Uruha’s spine and down to Kai’s legs, bringing them up enough to feel them on either side of his hips as he thrusted into the emperor. 

And what a sight it was. Aoi plunged deeper and harder into Kai as the lust began to consume his muddled brain. This led to the three quickly losing their minds. Moans echoed off the wall as the three sought pleasure from each other without restraints, reigniting the fire the boys had thought had been smothered the day they’d revealed their past to Kai. 

But none of that mattered now. The only thing that remained was an insatiable need for one another, an inexplicable desire to be inside one another in more ways than just the physical. Their bond now ran deeper than that. Despite the circumstances that had brought them to this point, there wasn’t even a hint of a doubt that any of them wouldn’t be ready to lay their own lives on the line for the other, and yet, that neither would be able to go on without the other at the same time. 

Aoi leaned down to turn Uruha to kiss him, still thrusting hard into Kai while his free hand reached for Kai as well. He let go of the blond and kissed the emperor too. When he pulled back, his hands roamed their bodies softly as he put his back into it and didn’t hold back any longer. 

Uruha moved against Kai with feral need, meeting him thrust for thrust. Aoi was no longer holding him back, instead pushing him closer to the edge with his hands running about his skin. The brunet’s lips descended once again on the blond’s neck, nipping particularly hard just below his ear. 

“I want you to come all over him.”

Aoi spoke in a low voice at his ear as if it were a secret, a plot to secretly destroy Kai’s sanity with nothing but intense pleasure. Uruha’s insides clenched at the sound of his voice. He wasn’t sure if maybe he’d lose his mind first. He picked up speed, Aoi’s hand stroked him in conjunction with his pace. In seconds he was coming all over Kai’s chest and stomach with his head thrown back onto Aoi’s shoulder and a silent scream.

His insides fluttered around Kai as he rode out his orgasm slowly until he couldn’t handle any more. The blond shuddered as Aoi’s hand continued jerking off his overly sensitized dick slowly. 

“I can’t—“

The blond complained and slid off of Kai’s dick, collapsing on the bathhouse floor.

With Uruha now satisfied, Aoi pulled Kai’s legs up higher, throwing them over his shoulders, and began pounding into him, aiming for the emperor’s prostate until he was ready to lose his own mind if he didn’t climax soon.

“—so good.” Kai managed between moans.

Aoi moved a hand to Kai’s lips. Whatever it was he had in mind, Kai wasn’t sure and didn’t care as he instinctively parted his lips and pulled the brunet’s fingers into his mouth and began sucking on them.

The brunet bit his lip at the feeling and sight of Kai, fingers in his mouth and body writhing beneath him. Aoi dropped his legs and pulled his fingers out to wrap them around Kai’s length. It only took a few more seconds before Kai let go and came in ropes of white over the mess Uruha had left.

The emperor’s insides contracted and milked Aoi’s own release. The brunet quickly pulled out of Kai’s ass and spilled his seed to join the other two over Kai. He leaned down and ran his tongue across the mess with a sensual moan before collapsing besides the emperor.

Kai lay there motionless; his lungs begged for air, but his body buzzed with satisfaction. He could feel the tingling in his muscles as his body began catching up with him. He could almost swear he’d floated away for a moment and was now just returning to his human form. The emperor’s heart raced, in part from effort, but mostly from happiness. He was complete again. Aoi and Uruha had welcomed him back, and what a welcome it was. 

“That was incredible!” Kai let out a deep breath.

Aoi suddenly got up and went about washing up with a self satisfied look on his face. 

“I can’t believe you did that.” Uruha directed himself at Aoi, sitting up from his position and following suit. 

The brunet simply shrugged, still looking smug. Uruha took that as a challenge and would wait for the right moment to make his move.

“Are you going to wash up, or should we clean you up again?” Aoi looked at the emperor as he made the offer with a smirk on his face.

Kai looked over to him and watched as Aoi looked back with a cocky grin on his face and ran his tongue over his lip suggestively. Kai’s insides stirred. The brunet was playing with fire, taunting him like that.

Kai went about cleaning up, occasionally stealing glances over at the other two, who seemed to be oozing pheromones and were already driving him wild with just the view. 

Aoi finished up and went about drying himself off, followed by Uruha, who then reached for a clean robe to wear. 

“Who said you could get dressed? I’m still hungry.” Aoi stopped the blond from closing his robe, dropping to his knees and lapping at the blond’s softened appendage, bringing it back to life. 

“I thought you were actually hungry.” Uruha feigned disinterest, but threw his head back as he placed his hand on Aoi’s head, silently begging for more. Unfortunately, he was left gasping in want when the brunet pulled away abruptly, quickly getting to his feet and reaching for a robe himself.

“I guess I should get dressed so we can eat then.”

It was the last straw. Kai was teased beyond control upon watching that small interaction and practically teleported to where the two men stood by the door. 

“Don’t bother.” The emperor snatched the fabric from Aoi’s hands, tossing it aside without a care. He reached for Aoi’s hand and dragged him through the door that led to his own chambers, only sparing a single look back at Uruha in a silent command for him to follow. 

The moment he set foot into his bedroom he turned to grab behind Aoi, lifting him from his ass to carry him over to the top of the bed. Aoi instinctively wrapped his legs around Kai’s waist for only a second before he was thrown onto the bed, the emperor descending on him in a flash. If Aoi was hungry for more, Kai was ravenous, and right now he wanted nothing more than to fuck the brunet senseless, until Aoi couldn’t remember his own name. 

Watching Aoi land helplessly onto the bed with Kai on top of him like a beast ready to devour his prey gave Uruha an idea. He located the lube that Kai kept around and brought it to the top of the bed. Sex with Kai and Aoi had been different than when Uruha and Aoi were alone. For the past few months, the two had finally managed to overcome most of Aoi’s trauma when it came to being intimate, but Uruha knew that, subconsciously, he had also held back from unleashing all his desires on the brunet. Instead he’d focused on making love to him, for the most part. It had been much needed on both parts, but hearing the brunet moan the way he was at the moment as Kai now had him face down on the mattress while the emperor’s face was buried in his ass, the blond was reminded of how much Aoi liked to be treated roughly. He was no doll. He was a man with a, sometimes insatiable, need for sex. 

Uruha walked over and crawled on the bed, placing the lube within Kai’s reach. He positioned himself near Aoi’s head with his legs on either side of the brunet’s head. The blond reached for Aoi’s face and lifted it so he could meet his eyes. 

“I thought you were hungry,” he said as he scooted within the brunet’s reach, suggesting he get on with what he had started.

“I’m starving,” claimed the man below, never looking away from Uruha’s light brown eyes, meeting them with a lascivious gaze as he wrapped a hand around the blond’s dick and began to suck him off. 

When Kai’s tongue suddenly penetrated the brunet’s ass, he was momentarily distracted until Uruha’s other hand descended on his head, forcing him back down while he pushed his dick far down the brunet’s throat. Aoi didn’t know what to think. Uruha wasn’t usually this rough, but he was more surprised by how much it turned him on for the blond to be so demanding. 

Behind the brunet, Kai had two handfuls of his ass as he rimmed his tight hole, occasionally dipping his tongue inside. The emperor pulled away and grabbed the lube that Uruha had so thoughtfully placed for him. It seemed that the blond had the same idea as him and wanted to see Aoi fall apart at their hands. The emperor poured the slippery liquid and didn’t waste any time as he dipped two fingers inside the brunet. Aoi moaned and shifted, he hadn’t expected Kai to be so impatient, but was glad for it. He couldn’t wait to be taken by the man.

After a short moment of watching Aoi deep throat Uruha enough to have the blond thrusting roughly into his mouth, Kai inserted a third finger into his ass to test his elasticity. He’d had enough and he couldn’t hold back any longer. The emperor pulled his fingers out and coated himself quickly. He wasted no time aligning himself and pushing into the brunet, not slowing down or stopping until he was buried to the hilt. 

Aoi moaned with Uruha’s dick still in his mouth. Fuck, that felt good! He wanted more. Luckily, Kai was never one to disappoint and the brunet’s attempts at teasing him beyond control had succeeded. The emperor didn’t hold back as he began fucking into Aoi without restraints. 

“Is this what you wanted?” Kai managed between thrusts as he continued pounding into the younger man relentlessly. Aoi could only groan in response. Yes, this was what he’d been wanting. Kai gripped his hips tightly for leverage as he continued his assault.

Uruha adjusted his position and raised himself to his knees. The new angle gave Aoi leverage to push himself back harder against Kai. He couldn’t get enough. This need was carnal, feral, insatiable, and pure lust. Although he had nothing to go by, he knew that this need was strictly limited to the connection he felt with the two men currently taking pleasure from him. There was a strong bond holding them together; Aoi was in love with them both. He could feel it. 

Uruha groaned and gripped Aoi’s long hair in his hands as he fucked his mouth roughly. The feeling of the brunet’s throat constricting around his cock every time he plunged in balls deep had the blond breathless. He threw his head back as he thrusted in, then hunched forward pulling back out, overwhelmed. He was losing his mind once again. 

He’d sought to take control over Aoi, but couldn’t help thinking that Aoi was, in fact, the one in control as he deepthroated Uruha again, not giving him a chance to recover. The blond pulled out and lifted Aoi to meet him face to face. His lips glistened with precome but Uruha didn’t hesitate to kiss him. He gripped his hair tightly and ran a hand down to grab his ass without missing a beat as he continued to kiss him madly.

Kai’s hand snaked around Aoi’s body, grabbing both Uruha and Aoi’s dicks in one hand, stroking them. Uruha pulled away after only a moment, not wanting to get off just yet. Instead, he pushed the two back onto the bed, Kai slipping out of Aoi as they landed on their backs with the brunet still on top. Uruha was too turned on to care. He leaned over and kissed Kai in a small apology nevertheless, and began his descent on Aoi’s body, nipping lightly at his nipple as he continued. 

The blond made himself comfortable between the younger’s open legs and licked his palm to stroke Kai’s length while his mouth got to work on Aoi’s cock. The older man then used his hand to guide Kai back inside the brunet as he watched Aoi sink down onto Kai. Uruha did his best to give Aoi head while the brunet got busy riding Kai’s dick like it would be the last time. Within minutes, the brunet was moaning as Kai pistoned into him wildly from below. 

Uruha pulled off, opting to watch the brunet instead. He loved the way his brows furrowed with every jab to his prostate; the way his lips parted as he gasped for air. Aoi reached for the blond, bringing him in to kiss him once again, and used a hand to try to jerk the blond off. He wanted to touch him. The need to be physically connected to the two at all times was unbearable. 

Kai adjusted them so that he was behind Aoi on his knees once again, now pounding into the brunet. He was so close that he couldn’t hold it back any longer. He moved a hand to wrap around Aoi’s cock and found that Uruha was already on the task. The emperor leaned in and began placing hard kisses to Aoi’s neck that had the brunet melting in his hands. 

Aoi felt like collapsing from the pleasure as Kai fucked him senseless, but Uruha was holding his dick so hard that he couldn’t come despite the feeling that he might already be coming. He felt the warmth of Kai’s essence fill him as the emperor thrusted into him erratically. Kai finished off, pulled out and flopped back onto the bed. It was Uruha’s turn.

The blond placed a soft kiss to Aoi’s lips before pulling him around and positioned himself behind the brunet. 

“This is what you’ve been missing isn’t it?” Uruha shoved his face into the mattress and pushed into the brunet. A long, drawn out groan escaped the younger man as he was penetrated once again. Uruha was at his limit and he knew that Aoi was too, since he’d held him back from coming just moments ago. 

When the older man began to fuck into Aoi, Aoi was already coming. He pushed back only a few times before the feeling crashed over him. His legs felt weak as Uruha continued to pound into him without a care. The brunet’s legs gave out under him but the blond pulled him back up.

“Did I say I was done?” The blond placed a foot on the bed for even more leverage and resumed his brutal pace. Aoi’s mind was swimming in ecstasy. He could barely feel his legs and somehow he thought he might still be coming, if that were possible. When he suddenly felt a hard slap to his ass, he thought he might come again for sure. 

The noises that escaped his mouth as Uruha continued to fuck him while randomly smacking his ass were something he’d never admit to having done. 

“Harder!” He begged as he gripped the bedsheets. Uruha complied and Aoi bit down on the covers to try to save what was left of his dignity, if anything was left at all. 

Every part of his ass would be sore in the morning and he would welcome it. He hoped that he would remember it every time he moved for the next week, this intense pleasure that only Kai and Uruha could bring him. Uruha came inside of Aoi shortly after and the brunet’s legs gave out on him. 

Aoi lay, spent, between Kai’s and Uruha’s equally exhausted forms. He gasped in short breaths, unable to fill his lungs with enough air. His hair clung uncomfortably with his sweat and he wasn’t sure if he was still possibly coming as the lower part of him felt numb despite the euphoric feeling coursing through his veins. He could barely keep his eyes open and opted for closing them as the room refused to stop spinning. He dozed off shortly after.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So close to the end!! I’m not ready!!! 😭😭😭 I hope you enjoyed this chapter, it was pretty smutty, but they needed this.


	21. An Imperial Mandate

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait!! Here it is, the penultimate chapter. Please enjoy!

Kai studied the boys sleeping soundly in his bed, softly tucking the long strands of hair behind the blond’s ear. His eyes roved over what he could see of their bodies. 

They had bulked up, looking far more healthy, and manly, than he would have ever guessed they could. To his surprise, he’d found he never wanted them more. Gone were the days where just touching them made him worry he might break them. Along with their fragility’s absence came a hunger he was certain he would never be able to satiate. 

He had missed them. He had been so very worried when he’d heard about the assassin and now he doubted his concern was at all necessary. He’d have to test that theory sometime. Maybe he’d do that when the mere sight of the boys didn't enflame him to the point of near thoughtlessness. 

Even now, exhausted after hours of being with them, he felt himself distracted from his more dutiful concern. It was with great reluctance that he pulled his eyes from Aoi’s and Uruha’s sleeping faces, quietly sitting up and slipping out of bed. 

His bare feet hit the cold planks of his floor and he walked down the low steps, grabbing a robe and donning it before he left the room. He slid the door closed behind him softly, taking one last look at his sleeping lovers before his view was interrupted. 

He pulled on a pair of slippers before leaving his wing and walking the hallways until he reached a door to the outside. He put on real shoes before stepping onto the pathway through the castle on the outside. Down the path he walked and a few minutes later reached an entrance to the holding cells located on the outskirts of the compound. 

At this time, there were few people there. Kai didn't make it common practice to hold prisoners but, of late, he'd found reason. This was where he’d kept those to be executed.

He opened the door and walked through. The guards within stood at attention, bowing to him as he passed them and stopped at the entrance into the area where the cells were. The guards outside this door bowed low as he approached. He stopped and spoke to them briefly. He needed to confirm his hunch before going into the room and throwing baseless accusations at the ones imprisoned within.

“Tell me, have you both been guarding this area since my departure?”

“Yes, Emperor sama. Tis our honor,” one of them spoke and both of them bowed again.

“And the women within, had they been here before they were imprisoned?”

One of the men quickly shuffled through the sheaf of paper that he’d pulled out from a locked box protruding from a wall near the door. He scanned the papers for a moment before responding. “No, Emperor sama.” 

Kai frowned. Had he been wrong, after all? 

“It appears,” the guard continues as he looked the sheets over, “that only the Queen Mother had stopped here. On,” he turned the papers and pointed so Kai could look, “this day.”

Kai looked at the day. Three days before the assassination attempt was noted to have happened in the letter he had received. 

“That will be all, thank you.” He straightened up and waited for the guards to open the door before entering the torchlit chamber beyond.

In the very first cell was his treacherous advisor, Kodachi. Kai had nothing to say to him and swept by wordlessly.

Not two cells down were the ones he had come to see. The condition of their cell was rather like the advisor's. Clean, with a bench, a chamber pot, and a place to sleep for each of them. He’d allowed them to stay together because he was certain there was nothing either of them could do without the power they’d held while living in his court. Simply being here meant that all their previous privileges and contacts were denied them. 

There were more guards inside, who bowed and opened the cell door on Kai’s signal and the emperor stepped in. As he did so, one of the women within stood from her seat and stepped toward him, her eyes glinting with fury.

“Exactly what do you mean by having the two of us imprisoned here?” Her voice was demanding. It was his stepmother, Konoe. She was a disheveled mess, looking every bit as old as she was without servants to make her pretty every morning. Behind her, cowering on a bench, was his fiance, Hana.

Kai spoke. “You will address me as is appropriate for my station. You may have had some sway before, but now you are lower than the bugs that crawl in the straw covering this floor.” He tapped his toes on the ground below. 

Her face twisted as her anger grew. 

“How dare you treat us this way,” she shrieked and took a threatening step forward. The guard outside the door shifted, his keys jangling, and her eyes shot to him. Kai hadn’t moved a muscle but he didn't need to. He was the emperor. She shrewdly took a step back. 

“If you cannot hold your tongue, I will have it removed before I dole out your punishment.”

“Remove my…punishment…” she whispered hoarsely and stumbled back, sinking down onto the bench behind her. Hana looked more terrified than ever, shrinking back into the wall behind her.

“It has come to my attention,” Kai began, “that an assassin was sent to kill my concubines.” His stepmother didn't look away, but Hana glanced back and forth between her and the emperor. “And I got to thinking, who still within the complex would even dare imagine doing such a thing while I was away at war for exactly such treasonous events having occurred.”

Kai began to pace slowly, face contemplative. 

“And then I remembered. My advisor had mentioned his niece, but only briefly, as if he was trying to hide something. I hadn't thought much of it at the time, I had a war to attend to, you see, but when I got this news it came to mind again. Exactly who was this niece. Somebody I hadn't dealt with before I left, surely.”

He looked at Hana, who let out a squeak. “And then I thought, of course. Of course it was my fiance. Kodachi had suggested her as a suitable match when it came time for me to become betrothed and I hadn't thought twice before taking his word. He was, at one time, my most trusted advisor, after all.”

“But now, he’d proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that he’d never had my best interests at heart. In fact, he’d been the one to try to usurp my father and had even set an assassin against me. All this, right under my nose and his niece was to become my bride.” Konoe looked defiant while Hana looked contrite.

“But I knew, I knew my fiance didn't appreciate how I was with my concubines. We’d never seen eye to eye on the matter,” Kai continued. “She would never have had the backbone to carry off an assassination attempt, and even if she had, she wouldn't have been smart enough to pull it off without help.”

“So, I thought, who, in my court, supported her the most? And then, it hit me. Of course it was you.” He looked at Konoe again. “You, who had wanted a son, but didn't have enough time before my father died. You, who so loved the power you gained when I became a child emperor. You, who had worked so hard to control every aspect of life for my entire existence, trying to mold me into your perfect puppet.”

“That never did work out so well, did it?” She simply glared at him, her mouth a thin line, remembering his earlier threat. “But Hana, she was so easily manipulated, the perfect target for you to bend to your will. And, she may not be, but you're plenty wily enough to attempt to assassinate people. Especially if doing so might bring me back from this war sooner so you might force me into marriage, giving you an open link to a sock puppet empress who would have large amounts of influence over the emperor.”

“What wild, false accusations you make,” Konoe muttered lowly.

“Is that so?” Kai questioned. “Tell me then, why were you here, speaking to Kodachi, a mere three days before the assassination attempt took place?”

“What nonsense, we weren't--”

“She wasn't,” Kai nodded towards his fiance, “but you were.”

“I was no--”

“Tread lightly, stepmother, for a lie now could mean the difference between your life and death.” Kai’s eyes glinted in the low light. To the women, he looked almost demonic. There was a long silence.

Hana broke first, falling to the floor on her knees. “It was us! I was just so jealous!” She looked up at him with tears swimming in her eyes. “How could you choose them?! After I loved you for so long?”

Konoe reached out and smacked her on the back of the head. “Silence, you foolish girl! Do you know what you’ve done,” she shrieked.

Kai turned and began to walk away, only to be stopped by a desperate shout just as he knocked to have the door opened. 

“Wait!”

The guard who had let the emperor in was now at the door, key sliding into the lock to open it. Kai looked back at his stepmother over his shoulder.

“What will become of us,” she asked in a trembling voice.

The door to the cell swung open and Kai stepped out.

“Please!” Another desperate cry from Konoe could be heard over the increasing sounds of sobs from Hana sprawled on the floor.

Kai didn't look back. “You'll be banished. Where you'll die because you don't know how to be anything but royalty.”

The door closed as fear washed over Konoe and she, too, collapsed to the floor. The women’s howls could be heard down the hallway and Kodachi had come to investigate, pressing close to his barred cell wall. 

He looked more worn and haggard than ever, his facial hair had become overgrown and he was dirty. He looked every bit the pitiful prisoner.

“Emperor sama!” He called out weakly as Kai passed.

The emperor stopped but didn't look at the man, waiting for him to speak.

“What have you planned for me, Emperor sama,” he asked, his tone plaintive.

Kai paused a moment before answering. “Your trial will certainly be special,” he said and then continued walking.

“Emperor sama! Emperor sama! Kai! You bastard!” 

The man continued yelling even as the door to the anteroom shut and beyond that until his voice couldn't be heard at all as Kai walked out into the cool night air. 

When he returned to his room the boys were still asleep, but stirred as he walked the stairs up to the bed. Aoi blinked blearily at him.

“Where did you go?” 

Kai shook his head. “I'll tell you about it in the morning. For now, sleep.”

Aoi shook his head, a hint of interest sparking in his eyes as Kai’s robe dropped to the floor, sleep suddenly far from his mind.

Kai grinned as he climbed onto the bed, Aoi sitting up to meet him, Uruha’s arm sliding down the brunet’s side and waking the blond fully with the movement. The brunet pulled the emperor close, kissing him slowly, pushing the other man down, and climbing over his hips.

Kai’s interest was awakened instantly, lips connecting and reconnecting with Aoi’s as their passion increased.

Aoi sat up, tossing his head back as he rolled his hips into Kai’s, both their erections growing as the friction sent spikes of arousal through them. Then, Uruha was leaning over, latching onto Kai’s mouth, pulling him into a deep kiss as his hand traveled over the emperor’s bare skin.

His nails scraped lightly across one of Kai’s nipples and the emperor gasped, breaking the kiss. Uruha pulled back and sat up to kiss Aoi with equal fervor. 

Kai grabbed the brunet’s hips, pushing their erections together as he watched their tongues dive into each other’s mouths. 

Aoi moaned into Uruha’s mouth, now fully hard as his dick pressed against the emperor’s. Uruha broke their kiss and grabbed for the oil that was still within easy reach. 

He poured some onto his own hand, lying down so his face was level with both Aoi and Kai’s pressed together erections. He wrapped an arm around the brunet’s backside, shoving two lubed fingers into his loosened passage as he put his tongue and remaining hand to work on their cocks.

The two moaned as the blond’s tongue played softly over the head of the first one, then the other’s dick. Kai shifted and turned his head enough to take Uruha’s length into his mouth. 

The blond momentarily lost focus as he groaned, and his hand stopped moving inside Aoi. This seemed to suit the brunet just fine, though, as he shuffled forward, Uruha’s fingers falling from him, and grabbed the emperor’s cock, sinking down onto it. 

Kai’s concentration was shot then, his mouth slipping off the end of Uruha’s dick as he groaned at the feeling of Aoi’s tight heat encasing him. Being balls deep in either of them was always heavenly. 

The emperor looked down at where he connected with the brunet who had begun to move, hips rocking forward and back onto him. Uruha’s blond hair splayed over Kai’s stomach, mouth swallowing Aoi’s length every time Kai slipped out of the brunet.

Kai moaned at the sight and then returned to work on Uruha’s now leaking cock. It seemed the blond rather liked having his mouth fucked. With that in mind, Kai slipped his hand down, threading his fingers through blond hair and holding his head in place as Aoi moved.

Aoi let out a moan at that and moved faster. Uruha shivered as the emperor began to suck him in earnest and Aoi’s dick fucked shallowly into his mouth. He closed his lips around the head, putting more effort into it as Kai’s hips began to twitch into the brunet’s slick passage. 

Kai removed his hand from silky hair and put it between the blond’s thighs, grabbing one to guide it up over his chest until Uruha was straddling his body. He then used both hands to push the blond’s hips lower so his backside was lined up with his face. 

“Don't stop sucking him,” he commanded the blond, who had already leaned down to take Aoi back into his mouth. The brunet watched with interest from his vantage point, looking down the blond’s back.

Kai leaned up and licked a stripe from the blond’s balls, over his taint, and further before sliding his tongue back down, focusing on trying to work it into that tight ring of muscle. Uruha’s groan was muffled around Aoi’s cock as he deep throated the appendage. The vibrations made Aoi shudder and pick up the pace as he watched the blond’s hips push down onto the emperor's face.

Kai moaned in turn and they became a writhing mass. It wasn't long before Aoi came, body snapping taut as he filled Uruha’s mouth with his seed.

Aoi panted as Uruha’s tongue licked him clean and the blond moved away, throwing his leg back over Kai so he could move to one side. He then smashed his lips to the emperor’s, allowing Aoi’s come to transfer from his mouth into Kai’s as their tongues intertwined. 

Aoi’s mouth fell open, lust rushing through him at the sight. If he hadn't just came he would be coming again. As it was, he could only groan as Kai’s hands moved into the blond’s hair, the two of them swallowing down his seed as if it were the most delicious thing they’d ever tasted, not wasting a drop. 

Aoi moved off Kai with a groan when the kiss ended, clearing the way for Uruha to take over, the blond slamming himself down onto Kai and reaching for Aoi. The brunet put his hand onto Uruha’s cock to jerk him off in time with the movements of his hips and they kissed as Uruha set up a fast pace, fucking himself hard as Kai gripped his hips bruisingly. Aoi tasted traces of himself on the blond’s lips and broke the kiss, bending down to capture the emperor's mouth as well. 

It didn't take long at all for Kai to succumb to his own pleasure, fucking Uruha hard and coming abruptly, filling the blond. Uruha moaned at the sensation, still pressing his hips down onto Kai until Aoi squeezed at just the right time and he stopped, going rigid as he also released.

The blond collapsed forward onto Kai, breathing heavily. Kai, also, seemed too blissed out to move and they stayed like that as the emperor softened inside him. When the blond got the energy, he rolled off, ending up sandwiched between Kai and Aoi.

They were a sweaty, come covered, mess, but none of them could bring themselves to care as Aoi threw the blanket over them and they drifted off to sleep. 

The next few weeks were paradise. Kai recovered from the trials of war, feeling at ease in his own home for the first time since Aoi and Uruha had revealed their secret to him. He was entertained and excited to find that, when they each practiced their combat skills, they were evenly matched. 

Kai was easily distracted from his duties as emperor. Their sparring sessions tended to end as they had before Kai left for the summit. Oftentimes the three barely made it into an enclosed space before their clothes were off and they were fucking like animals. 

The changes in the boys’ physique meant that Kai could be even rougher with them, and they loved it. Sometimes, the three even made a game of their spars where the last one standing got whatever he wanted from the other two.

These weeks were blissful and it was easy for Kai to forget that he had other things to attend to. He was reminded rather abruptly while drifting into his own thoughts as he sat at a meeting with his advisors. They told him everything in the kingdom was prosperous, that the new leader they installed in the kingdom Kai brought back to subservience was running it smoothly. Everything was going so well that when they brought up their next topic, it was a jarring dose of reality thrown in his face.

“Emperor sama,” one of them began hesitantly, pulling him from his thoughts. 

Kai looked at the man, mind still fuzzily flitting into his fantasy land. He'd beaten both Aoi and Uruha in hand to hand combat yesterday and they still owed him as they were interrupted yesterday and Kai ended up having to work deep into the night. When he’d finally come home the two had been sleeping and he didn't want to wake them. Today, he would extract his winnings. 

“We think, after due consideration, that it might be time for you to consider taking a bride.”

Kai froze. He hadn't thought about it in weeks, but he had realized that he would need to wed. He’d been successful in burying the thought in the back of his mind to this point. 

“The empire will need heirs and, given how volatile things became before any were produced, we are anxious to have a guaranteed successor should anything again happen.”

Kai blinked and folded his hands together, unable to answer for a moment. He knew this was coming, but he had hoped he could avoid it. 

“Not that we are saying something will happen to you, Emperor sama, we know that you are strong and your enemies have been vanquished!” The man seemed to want to take back his words as he laughed nervously and continued. “But, you can see that we would like you to secure your line, Emperor sama, so there is no doubt of your continued reign.”

Many thoughts swirled around in Kai’s head. His heart squeezed painfully at the thought of being with anyone else. Aoi and Uruha were more than enough. He didn't care if he couldn’t have a child with them. At this point, he didn't even know if he could get it up for anyone else. The two were so all encompassing, altering his life in so many ways that he'd previously thought impossible, that he didn't think anyone else could ever measure up. The mere thought of consummating any sort of marriage with anyone else made his stomach turn. He didn't think they could forgive him that, even for the sake of his empire, but, even more, he knew he couldn't forgive himself.

“Emperor sama?” Kai looked back at the man, not realizing his eyes had drifted down to the table between his arms.

“We could have a lineup of eligible royals set up for you, or a celebration where you could choose anyone you wanted, if that sounds more to your liking.” The suggestion was repugnant. He could never choose anyone else, because he loved the boys. He loved them like he’d never known he could love another person. He loved them with a fierceness that would bow to no societal rules. 

But he also loved his people. They needed to be cared for and safe. There need never be a succession war on Kai’s account. That could only hurt his empire. 

These two loves seemed to wage war inside him, a titan’s clash. 

The emperor scrubbed a hand through his hair.

“I…I need to think on it,” he decided.

The man nodded. “Very good, we shall discuss it at our next meeting.”

Kai agreed and they all left except Kai, who sat at the table holding his head in his hands for many hours before returning to his wing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How will the boys feel about this? Kai’s has to procreate an heir. 🤭


	22. The End of An Era

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is so bittersweet to post. Here it is, the end of this story. I hope you all enjoyed it! Leave some kudos if you did. I’m equally introverted so if leaving a comment is effort, just click the kudos, I’d love to know if people liked it.

Aoi and Uruha greeted Kai with open arms and smiles that melted off their faces when they saw his expression.

“What's wrong?” Aoi asked, never one to beat around the bush, as Kai sank down onto a cushion at the small table they had filled with food, putting his face back into his hands and letting out a sigh. 

The emperor looked into both their concerned faces in turn, wondering how he could bring it up. Uruha laid a gentle hand on one of his forearms, pulling it away from his face and holding the emperor’s hand in both of his.

Kai couldn't say it. How could he tell them that he was going to betray them to make a baby that had nothing to do with them? How could he explain that it was his duty as emperor. How could he expect them to understand when he himself was struggling with the very concept?

He shook his head and covered his eyes with his free hand. The blond squeezed his hand and Aoi pried the other hand gently from his face, holding that hand as well.

“You can tell us,” prompted the brunet. When Kai still hesitated, Uruha spoke up. “Tell us, Kai, we are here to help you. What's the point of trying to hide anything now, anyway?”

Kai chuckled, grateful to the blond. He was right, he might as well just say it. They'd never leave it alone having seen this display of uncertainty from him.

He took a deep breath and began, looking down at their clasped hands. “My advisors kindly reminded me today that I have a—,” he paused and searched for the right word, “an obligation to this empire.” Kai forced himself to meet their eyes as he continued. “I have an obligation to sire an heir.”

Aoi was still looking at him blankly, as if not understanding the significance of the words said. Uruha, however, had drawn in a sharp breath and was now also looking down at their hands.

“I don't—” Kai started, looking at Uruha with pleading eyes, but then broke off, not wanting to sound like he was whining. He held onto the blond’s hand tightly, trying to get him to look at him. “I haven't agreed to anything. I can't even picture myself with anyone but the two of you.”

Understanding dawned on Aoi then, and he let out a soft “oh.”

“Please, I—” Kai broke off again. He wanted them to know this wasn't in any way his desire; he needed them to know that. He looked down at the table when neither Aoi nor Uruha would meet his eyes, brows drawn together as the pain and confusion of his indecision assaulted his heart. He shook his head. “I don't know what to do.” His voice was a near whisper, breaking with impending tears.

Uruha held his hand tightly, squeezing it, but Aoi’s grip loosened. Kai looked up, trying to read their expressions. Uruha’s face was thoughtful, but his eyes were fierce as he stared down at Kai’s hand, stroking his knuckles. He was nodding slowly. 

Aoi, on the other hand, was staring straight at him with a frown of disdain. He dropped Kai’s hand and put his own to the table, pushing himself into a stand. 

“Well, if you aren't sure, then maybe we should just give you some time to think it over.” Aoi’s tone was biting and bitter as he turned on his heel and walked into the next room, sliding the door shut with a loud snap behind him.

Kai’s empty fingers curled into a fist that he pressed to his heart as the tears began to spill in earnest. He looked at Uruha, desperate for forgiveness.

“I don't want this.” His voice broke as he spoke. “I won't lose you over this, I can't.” He shook his head and looked off to the place where Aoi had walked away. They could hear things crashing in the room beyond. Aoi was obviously angry. Kai couldn't blame him for breaking stuff in his frustration. Many times, he wanted to do the same.

Uruha reached out, putting a hand to the emperor’s face, directing his attention back to him. He shook his head as he ran his thumb through Kai’s tear tracks.

“You won't. We always knew you were the emperor. You have to do your job. Duty comes first.” 

Despite the reassuring words, the blond’s tone held a bitter edge. 

Kai now took Uruha’s hands with both his own, trying to convey the strength of his feelings. He shook his head in denial.

“No! No it doesn't!” He bit his lip, hesitating again as more tears leaked from his eyes when he realized the blond didn't know the depth of his feelings for them. He couldn't blame them; he'd never made it clear. For a long time he wasn't even sure what it was he was experiencing, let alone being able to vocalize it. 

Kai took a deep breath and looked directly into the blond’s eyes, trying to force him to understand. “I love you.”

Uruha was caught off guard, his expression warring between happiness and surprise. 

“And Aoi. I love him too,” Kai clarified. “Though, I doubt now is the best time to tell him.” They heard the tinkling of breaking china from the adjoining room and both winced. 

Uruha squeezed the emperor’s hand in his. “He’ll come around. Let me go make sure he doesn't hurt himself in there.” 

Kai was reluctant to let go of Uruha’s hand, but did as the blond rose and walked over to the door, knocking once before going in and shutting the door behind him.

The emperor sat in tense silence as he heard Aoi and Uruha muffled voices talking. Then, there was yelling that was very clear to Kai on the other side of the wall.

“—nd he doesn't know?! Have we meant nothing this whole time?! Were we just a distraction for him until he could get himself a perfect little wife?!” Aoi’s voice broke on the last word and then there was a thump and a loud sob from inside the room beyond.

Kai couldn't take it anymore. He didn't want Aoi to be crying while thinking that both Aoi and Uruha were no more than a passing phase for him. He walked over to the door and slid it open, momentarily surveying the damage before walking over to the brunet, who was kneeling beside the adjoining wall. 

He crossed the space between them, trying to step over the shards of china but feeling a few burrow into his feet and ignoring them. When he reached Aoi, he dropped to his knees and gathered the crying man close to his chest.

Aoi fought for a moment, pushing on Kai’s chest, but stopped when the emperor did not let go. Moments later, the brunet wrapped his arms around Kai, fingers grabbing handfuls of the robes on Kai’s back.

“Are we not enough for you? Is it because of what happened or was it always like this?”

Aoi buried his face in Kai’s shoulder as the emperor ran a soothing hand down his back, tightening his grip when the brunet made the suggestion that they weren't enough because of what that bastard Kodachi had done. 

“Of course not,” Kai answered. Uruha dropped to his knees behind the brunet, pressing his chest to the brunet’s back and wrapping his arms around his waist. “If anything, you two have always been too good for me. I love you both more than words can describe and I can't imagine having to ever choose another for any amount of duty to my empire.”

Aoi sniffled into the emperor’s shoulder and all three stayed that way until Aoi’s joints started to stiffen and he pulled away from the emperor, wiping his face. 

Kai sat on his knees in front of them, as if he was about to be judged by a panel of his peers and was awaiting the verdict. Uruha still held Aoi, though, as he collected himself.

“I know,” Aoi began, his voice shaky, “I know this isn't what you want, and it isn't what we want.” He grabbed Uruha’s hands around his waist with both of his, “but I understand it's your duty, and we will support you in whatever decision you make. It's not like you have many options, Kai. Whatever you do, it won't change things between us.”

Kai couldn't stop more tears from cascading down his face. His heart burned with love for these boys. What had he ever done to deserve them? 

“We should clean this up.” Uruha looked around the trashed room and stood, walking around Aoi and Kai and beginning to gather things from the floor. 

Aoi stood up as well, leaving the room and coming back with a broom before Kai was able to get a hold of himself. The brunet gasped as he walked in the door, looking in Kai’s direction.

“What?” Kai’s inquiry was watery as he wiped his eyes after checking to make sure there was nothing wrong with the brunet.

Aoi carefully swept a path across the floor to the emperor and kneeled down some distance behind him.

“Your feet.” The brunet swiped a finger across the heel of one and held it up to show Kai the bloody digit.

“Oh, it's nothing, I just walked on some broken china bits.”

By now Uruha had come over and was also bent down, inspecting the damage. He nodded and walked out the door. When he came back, Aoi had yanked Kai’s foot out from under him, making Kai laugh as he lifted and settled both the emperor’s bloody feet onto a low stool in the room. Uruha set down a pair of tweezers, gauze, and some water onto a table and the two carefully attended Kai’s feet, wrapping them neatly so they wouldn't bleed everywhere.

Kai told them to leave the mess and used his win against them to ask them to sleep on either side of him. They laughed and told him he’d wasted a perfectly good opportunity to have them become his temporary slaves. 

As they helped him to his feet, he suddenly remembered that he had wanted to ask them something.

“Before I forget, I wanted to ask. Do you want to attend Kodachi’s trial? You can stand with me. I've told him that I'd allow the two of you to choose how he pays for his crimes.” Aoi and Uruha nodded grimly, glad Kai had included them in this decision. Putting that man to justice would be their pleasure. 

Kai nodded, too. “Good. The trial is in one week.”

————————————————

Aoi smoothed down the front of Uruha’s robes for the hundredth time in the last ten minutes. The two were draped in the black and gold of their new stations. 

They had become court ministers, outstripping even the man Kai had called his most trusted advisor in rank. Certain duties came with the title, but Kai had to choose new people for large numbers of his court when he’d discovered their treachery. Aoi and Uruha were the ones he trusted most and they were quickly learning how to deal with affairs of the realm.

They were at court this day, as per Kai’s askance, to submit their suggestions for Kodachi’s punishment. Aoi was nervous and kept fidgeting, making sure that they looked perfectly presentable. 

This would be the first large function the two attended and, though they knew the manners of the court and swiftly picked up anything they didn’t know, they knew they weren't royalty. When Kai had presented them with the robes and the titles they'd been thunderstruck, but he told them to fake it.

“If nobody knows whether you are or are not royalty, then, if you just act confident, no one will be the wiser,” he said as he handed the robes to each of them. 

So, there they were, Aoi fretting over both of them until the moment the doors to the court opened to admit them.

They were shown to a slightly raised platform in a surprisingly small room. There was an empty stretch of polished wooden floor in front of the platform where the accused would stand to answer for his or her crimes.

Kai was already on the platform and they situated themselves behind him to either side. The remainder of the court filed in and formed a line across the platform.

They all waited in a tense silence, Aoi and Uruha glancing surreptitiously around, uncomfortable. It wasn't long before the doors opened again and the accused was pulled in.

Kodachi looked like hell. He was dirty, scruffy, and they could smell him from where they stood. He didn't, however, look malnourished or as though he had been beaten since Kai had almost killed him.

Uruha was honestly impressed at the damage present on the man’s face. His nose was nearly flat, he had many missing teeth, and his jaw wasn't perfectly aligned as it should be. Even his ear looked beaten. The blond looked discreetly down to Kai’s scarred knuckles. He hadn't given it much thought before, when Aoi had mentioned that Kai had saved him, but now he could see what Aoi had meant when he’d said that Kai had beaten the advisor savagely.

In truth, he felt a little gratified upon seeing the evidence of the consequences, though even seeing the man as he was held in place on his knees by guards before the court made his anger return with a vengeance. This may have just been a sentencing, but he felt a savage glee at the thought of meting out one last punishment on the man who had made their lives a living hell.

“Kodachi, this court has been convened and has summoned you today to provide a sentence for the crime of High Treason of which you have been convicted. “

The announcement came from a deep voiced man who stood off to the side of the raised platform.

“The emperor will now read your sentence aloud for the court to hear and agree on.”

Kai cleared his throat and looked down at a scroll he had produced from the folds of his robes. He unfurled it and read in a strong, clear voice.

“Kodachi, for the crimes of High Treason, Kidnapping, and Abuse of Power, you are hereby sentenced to die by sword to the neck. You shall be executed at dawn in three days time.”

The advisor sagged in the hold the guards had on him as the weight of reality broke over him. His head hung for a moment as Kai rolled up the scroll and handed it off to the nearest secretary. The guards began to drag him backwards out of the room and he looked up one last time. His vision swam as his head spun but his eyes focused on the emperor and then on the two black robed ministers standing behind him, looking triumphant. 

With a jolt, he realized the two ministers were none other than the captive concubines. A tidal wave of fury swept through him and before he knew what he was doing he had wrenched free of the guard's grip and charged at the brunet.

“You! This is all your doing!” His fingers, curled like claws, had nearly reached Aoi when there was a swish of fabric and the sound of a blade being drawn and, suddenly, there was steel at his throat forcing him to a halt.

His eyes followed the katana up, past the hand of the person holding it, up a black sleeve, and finally alighted on the eyes of the man holding the blade. Those eyes shone with cold fury and the metal dug into his neck just shy of drawing blood. They belonged to the blond he had captured. He had stepped in front of the brunet, who was now looking down at Kodachi with disgust. 

“Give me a reason, and I’ll make your execution take place right here, right now.” The advisor’s eyes flicked back to the blond as the blade pressed in harder, nicking his skin so the blood gathered slowly and dripped from the point of the blade. 

The advisor felt fear creep into his bones and he fell back onto his rear as the guards caught up, taking firm holds on him this time as they dragged him from the room, his eyes not leaving the blond’s until the door closed between them. 

Uruha lowered his now sullied blade to his side and turned to Aoi.

“Are you alright?” 

Aoi nodded to both him and Kai’s inquiring look as the emperor peered over the blond’s shoulder. The rest of the sentencing went off without a hitch, Kai’s stepmother and former fiance crying hysterically as they received their banishment and were escorted out.

When the day came to a close, Aoi and Uruha were stiff with boredom that they worked quickly to rectify once they reached Kai’s wing. They stripped and attacked the emperor, too pleased and relieved about the events of the day despite the boring parts to do anything but let off steam in the form of sex. 

Three days later, dawn found the three awaiting Kodachi’s arrival to the gallows. Kai stood on the raised platform there, katana sheathed and arms crossed. Aoi and Uruha stood on the packed dirt below, looking up as they heard the advisor being taken up the stairs, bleeting and crying pathetically. The guards forced him down and clipped the chains to the cuffs binding his hands and ankles to hooks in the platform, preventing his movement. 

Kai stepped forward and drew his katana. 

“Please, please!” The man begged as snot and tears ran down his face. “Your father wouldn't have wanted this! He was a good man! A peaceful man!”

Kai placed the blade to the back of the man’s neck and he trembled and struggled away as much as he could.

“My father,” Kai began loudly, “was killed by you, though not by your hand, just like this. I heard, he was far less pathetic than the sniveling rat you’ve become.”

“No, no! Please! Emperor sa-!”

Kai could wait no longer before he drew his katana back and swiftly swung it forward in a vicious stroke that severed the blithering man’s head cleanly. The emperor stayed in his position a moment, taking in the silence before straightening up and staring solemnly at the headless body of his once trusted advisor before the guards thumped up the platform stairs and seized the body, dragging it off as blood dripped from man’s neck stump.

Kai turned and walked down the stairs in the opposite direction, carefully cleaning his sword as a distraction to the roiling emotions this act had caused. In general, he didn't like killing others. This time he found it necessary, but it still hurt to know that the man he’d thought he was close to for so many years had betrayed him so thoroughly.

He sheathed his weapon as he made his way closer to Aoi and Uruha, scanning their faces and seeing all the love and gratitude they had for him reflected there. This bolstered his spirits and the three solemnly retreated back to the palace. 

He eyed their backs contemplatively as they walked in front of him. They hadn't gloated, jeered, or jested after the man’s death. Their expressions as they each took his hand in turn were, instead, sorrowful. For a moment, Kai could not figure out why they would look that way, but then, he realized.

They weren't sad that the advisor had died. They were sad because they knew that Kai had been deceived by him. They were sad to have been the bearers of the news. They were sad for Kai. 

His heart lightened and he squeezed their hands. He wouldn't do anything to spoil this. This moment had helped him make the decision that had been plaguing his mind for days.

The next morning he had a meeting with his advisors. He felt no fear and no indecision as he attended. When the question of his marriage arose he had the solution ready.

“I will not marry.”

Murmurs swept through the room. 

“B-but, Emperor sama, what of your lineage?” The man who had brought the issue forth spluttered incredulously. 

“I will appoint an heir within the month to settle any confusion,” Kai replied calmly. 

The advisors weren't particularly happy, but, in the end, they accepted his solution. It was a viable one. Kai could choose another and pass on his knowledge and the rules of the land would still accept the replacement as long as it was a member of the emperor’s own family.

So, Kai returned to his room that night and broke the news to Aoi and Uruha, who gifted him with everything they knew how to give.

His heart was light as he spent the next few weeks carefully watching the children within his family to determine the most worthy to lead. By month’s end he had selected one. 

The boy’s name was Ruki and, though he was no more than ten, he was the emperor’s cousin. When Kai approached the family with his offer, they were overjoyed. The emperor could see the faint hints of greed in their eyes as they repeatedly thanked him. Ruki himself, however, rather than excited, seemed nervous.

“What is it that you fear,” Kai asked him curiously after taking him aside. 

Ruki shook his head, blond locks slapping softly against his chubby cheeks.

Kai smiled kindly at the boy. “Go on, I don't bite. Tell me.”

Ruki still looked hesitant but finally spoke.

“What if people die because of me? Lots of people have died while you’ve been emperor.” He bit his lip and looked away from Kai as if worried he'd said too much.

Kai nodded, considering his words carefully. “That is fair. Sometimes, to protect the ones you love, hard choices must be made. You don't have to enjoy death, but accept that it sometimes happens over the course of things.”

Ruki nodded but he still didn't look convinced. Kai smiled to himself. He had chosen well. The new ruler would be benevolent as long as Kai could teach him the right way of things.

“Death can often be avoided by practicing kindness,” Kai began. “You see…”

And so, the long days of teaching the new emperor-to-be began. Ruki was officially announced as the heir by month’s end, as Kai had promised, and the Emperor carried the burden of teaching the child off with grace. 

Kai continued his relationship with his two ministers and it soon became an accepted, though not openly spoken of, part of court life. People knew better than to ridicule the emperor over his choices. 

Over time, the empire flourished. There were a few, much more minor, upsets within the empire during Kai’s remaining reign. Aoi and Uruha stayed by Kai’s side as they each grew wiser in the ways of governing, becoming a true asset to Kai’s rule. 

Ruki was 15 when he was assigned a permanent guard, Reita, and only 17 when Kai walked into a room, saw the taller one backed against a wall and leaning down to kiss the shorter one. The emperor left quietly, biting back a smile. He hoped his own precedent would be enough for Ruki to remain comfortable in court for all the years of his rule.

Many more years passed before Kai handed the reigns to the little blond boy that had grown into a strong young man, his guard still proudly by his side. 

Kai retired with Aoi and Uruha, stepping down with grace and moving to a large palace where they were well attended to for the rest of their days. Aoi had taken up fishing to pass the time, very enthusiastically handing it to Kai who attempted to cook it on his own nearly every time. Uruha also developed his own hobbies, but the three had never felt so relaxed, so free from all the burdens that had once been placed upon them.

They would each bear their scars for the remainder of their days, but the scars in no way dictated their lives. As they passed through their old age and into the realm beyond, their names lived on in legend. Minister Aoi sama, the bold, Minister Uruha sama, the brave, and Emperor Kai sama, the fearless.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there it is. The end. I don’t know if I’ll ever have the energy to write something this large ever again. Respect to those of you who can. Wow! Just wow! We’ll see where those plot bunnies lead next. Until next time!!


End file.
